3PB's crime and regulatory barrister Nicholas Cotter has successfully appealed the imposition of a 30-year minimum term for murder, which had been witnessed by a very young child. The case involved the use of knife resulting in a brutal killing on a public street. The full court were persuaded that whilst this was a significant case of its type the enhancement of the minimum term due to the presence of the child was excessive. The...
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3PB's commercial disputes and data protection barrister Mariya Peykova appeared for Volkswagen Group UK in Birmingham in the case of Smith v Volkswagen Group before HHJ Emma Kelly. Mariya was instructed by Shoosmiths LLP. The claimant alleged manufacturing design faults in her car which she had bought seven years earlier. Mariya successfully applied for an Extended Civil Restraint Order (ECRO) after a Deputy District Judge had earlier ruled against the claimant and awarded costs to...
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3PB criminal barrister Ben Thompson has successfully acted for the Crown in a serious affray involving multiple child victims. Ben prosecuted a man in his 40s who confronted nine children in a public park, brandishing a knife and threatening to “cut their hearts out.” The defendant denied having a knife, claiming instead that he was holding a vape, but the jury rejected his account after a four-day trial in Southampton. The defendant was unanimously convicted...
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3PB family law silk June Venters KC, leading 3PB family barrister Rachel Temple (pictured here, left to right), successfully acted for the father in the Court of Appeal case of The Father, Mother, E a child (by his Children’s Guardian) and Aimee Dover Case No: CA-2025-001859. This judgment clarifies the scope of judicial criticism against any individual witness, whether a lay person or a professional, within family court proceedings. The case follows earlier children proceedings...
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