Being investigated or prosecuted for a criminal offence in itself causes a great deal of stress, worry and uncertainty, then having the added pressure of answering to your regulatory body only exacerbates these feelings.
At Eventum Legal our lawyers have a wealth of experience and expertise in advising and supporting clients under criminal investigation during professional discipline proceedings. Our lawyers support professionals who are answerable to their regulatory body when under investigation or charged with a criminal offence, we have experience with the following regulatory bodies:
Where required, and with your consent, we will liaise with your regulatory body in respect of the criminal allegations you are facing to ensure they are aware of the position from a defence perspective.
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This depends on your profession and whether the police feel they have a safeguarding duty to protect the public or a particular group of the public. Sexual or violent offences are often reported to an employer where a person works within a regulated industry or in a position of trust.
If we act quickly and the police notify us of their intention to inform your employer we will assess whether there is any way we can prevent this. If so, we will present strong representations against the information being shared.
Although each professional body will have their own procedures in place when initiating proceedings, all will follow a similar initial approach to their investigation. Following receipt of information that a member of their professional body has been arrested, charged or convicted the regulator will collate all relevant information such as, any statements, records or expert evidence. They will also likely write to the professional setting out their next steps and processes, they may also ask the professional to attend a meeting, or interview with them. It is at these meetings we would strongly advise any person in this position seeks legal advice, and where possible takes a lawyer to the meeting with them.
What you say and do in this meeting can impact upon a criminal investigation and therefore it is important that you understand the potential consequences providing information or not providing information can have. These meetings will be recorded whether this be audio recording or by a person taking notes during the meeting and these notes can be disclosed to assist the criminal investigation.
Having a criminal lawyer involved at this stage to provide advice on how to conduct yourself when answering to your regulatory body, and their investigation of any alleged criminal misconduct can be a huge benefit to both investigations.
We are not employment lawyers, and therefore we cannot advise on employment issues. However, our criminal defence lawyers have dealt with many cases whereby a suspect has unknowingly assisted a police investigation by what they have said to their employers during professional disciplinary investigations.
The best way to ensure criminal investigations are not adversely affected, is to instruct criminal lawyers to attend disciplinary interviews with you, and liaise with your professional body and employment solicitor regarding any queries they have relating to the criminal investigation. The benefit of this to you is that your legal interests are protected in both the criminal proceedings and employment proceedings, ensuring that you have a degree of control over the next steps taken by the investigatory bodies after interview.
To discuss this with one of our lawyers via our online enquiry form or by calling 0161 706 0602.
Our lawyers have many years experience representing individuals accused of the most serious criminal offences. Eventum Legal is a law firm that genuinely cares, as our client you will get exceptional honest legal advice and first class support.
We assist clients throughout the whole of England and Wales. Primarily our offices are in Manchester, but our lawyers travel nationwide to meet with our clients. In addition, we can regularly hold Teams/Zoom meetings where appropriate to do so. When choosing your legal representation, it does not have to be one you live closest to. Choosing a specialist lawyer can make a difference.
Legal fees are understandably a consideration. The costs of defending your case vary, and it is dependent upon the nature of the allegations, the legal work involved and what stage your case is at. Our team provide clear and realistic information on fees specific to each individual case, you will get no surprises, and we can put payment plans in place to make financing your case as easy as possible for you. Please call our team to obtain further information on the financial aspects of funding your criminal case privately.
Many clients come to us from other firms who have told them that their case shouldn’t or won’t reach a court room and that it will be “dropped” however, the people who get to make this decision are not your lawyers. Our service pledge is that our advice will always be honest and relistic, it is only with this advice we and our client can properly work together to challenge the allegations made against them and get the best results at the earliest oppotunity.
There are various factors that can impact the length of time it takes for a case to conclude or to reach court, such as; police forensic and court backlogs, the complexities of the case, and the nature of the allegations. At Eventum Legal we understand the worry and stress of waiting for outcomes during in criminal proceedings and believe that no matter how long the wait is you should always be informed and know exactly what is going on and what to expect. Contact us to discuss the circumstances of your case and our lawyers may be able to provide you with some guidance as to likely time frames and what what may happen next in your case.
The only way in which you may recieve costs back is if we successfuly obtain a Defence Costs Order from the court at the conclusion of your case, this can be subject to various factors and we can discuss those with you. We appreciate the money that clients pay to finance their representation, and we have at the forefront of our minds the possibility of obtaining a proportion of this back for clients where we can.
