Tom Horder
Year of Call: 2004
Email Address: [email protected]
CJSM: [email protected]
Telephone: 01202 292 102
Clerk Details
- Clerk Name: Stuart Pringle
- Clerk Telephone: 01962 868 884
- Clerk Email: [email protected]
Homicide (Murder and Manslaughter)
R v Shane Mays
Defence junior (to Andrew Langdon QC) in a trial arising from the disappearance and murder of 15-year-old Louise Smith in Leigh Park, Portsmouth. A prosecution appeal against the 25 year minimum term on the grounds it was “unduly lenient” failed.
R v RT
Defence junior for 17-year-old who strangled and then stabbed to death his mother.
R v Vicky Arthur
Defence junior (to Nigel Lickley QC) in case involving a disabled Defendant who stabbed to death another woman .
R v Bosha and Others
Prosecution junior (to Nigel Lickley QC) in multi-handed murder trial. A drugs gang organised a pre-arranged ambush in retaliation for a previous robbery.
R v Boyle
Defendant who randomly attacked a student in broad daylight, cutting their throat.
R v Hemming
Attempted murder involving a hammer attack against a vulnerable sex worker.
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Recommendations Tom Horder of 3PB Barristers is well regarded for his ability to handle health and safety cases concerning serious injuries and fatalities, both on land and at sea. He advises a range of notable clients, including government agencies such as the HSE alongside corporate companies and local authorities.
Strengths: "Tom clearly spends the time getting to grips with all of the issues, including even those little, peripheral things. His preparation is generally faultless, which gives great power to his advocacy. "Tom provides quality advice which is clear and understandable. He is an excellent advocate."
Chambers UK 2025/Crime/Western Bar/Band 1
Tom Horder has a robust practice in regulatory offences which sees him instructed by a range of parties including public sector bodies, companies and private individuals. He also handles cases concerning violent crime and sexual abuse, as well as fraud and drug offences. Additionally, he has expertise in cases involving regulatory offences.
Strengths: "Tom is a great barrister and a really accomplished advocate. He knows his stuff completely.""Tom is very fair on tricky cases and he is exactly the barrister needed to take everyone through things and get to the facts."
Chambers UK 2025/Crime/Western Bar/Band 1
Strengths: “Tom is very experienced in complex, multi-handed cases.” “He really is a first-class advocate.” “Tom is an excellent lawyer and a robust advocate.”
Chambers UK 2024/Crime/Western Bar/Band 1
Strengths: “He is a thorough, conscientious, and effective first-class advocate.”
“Tom is a powerful advocate who is charming yet forceful when needed.”Chambers UK 2023/Crime/Western Bar/Band 1
Strengths: "A conscientious, thorough and extremely effective advocate. He listens to his client and has a rare talent of getting the best out of everyone."
Recent work: Acted as junior defence counsel in the trial of Shane Mays for the murder of 16-year-old Louise Smith.Chambers UK 2022/Crime/Western Bar
Strengths: "He has a really nice manner in court and very good judgement." "Mr Horder is extremely experienced in all areas of criminal defence. He takes a hand-on approach to trial preparation, which makes him a popular choice among solicitors and clients alike."
Recent work: Defended a CCTV operative who unlawfully accessed the footage of an autopsy featuring a footballer who tragically died in a well-publicised plane crash.Chambers UK 2021/Crime/Western Bar
Strengths: "He is an extremely affable barrister who deals with difficult clients with commendable patience. He delivers calm and measured advocacy with the right amount of flair and is an exceptionally impressive trial advocate and lawyer behind the scenes."
Recent work: Defended a care worker accused of assaulting and abusing a large number of mentally and physically disabled residents at an adult care home.Chambers UK 2020/Crime/Western Bar
"His advice is always clear and concise and precisely what is required. His client care and commitment is exceptional. His willingness to go the extra mile has been impressive."
Recent work: Prosecuted an organised criminal gang controlling the supply class A drugs across the South of England.Chambers UK 2019/Crime/Western Bar
Strengths: "He is meticulous and tenacious, both in terms of his preparation and his conduct of cases in court." "He is smart, clever and pragmatic."
Chambers UK 2018/Crime/Western Bar
Strengths: "Very able, a rising star."'
Chambers UK 2017/Crime/Western Bar
'Praised by instructing solicitors for his expertise in cases concerning fraud, drugs and other serious criminal offences.
Strengths: "He has a particular skill in dealing with extremely demanding clients. He is very committed to his work and is very accessible when it comes to seeking advice or updates."'Chambers UK 2016/Crime/Western Bar
'...covers the full range of criminal offences, and is best recognised for his expertise in regulatory criminal cases. He receives regular instructions from local authorities, government bodies and insurers in relation to cases concerning health and safety, trading standards, environmental, aviation and maritime issues.
Expertise: "His advocacy is very good and he impresses with his knowledge of legislation and case law in niche areas."'Chambers UK 2015/Crime/Western Bar
Tom Horder is a ‘bright, personable and hard-working individual‘ who is currently handling the prosecution of an individual facing multiple allegations of child cruelty and sexual offences.
'Tom is an intelligent advocate who commands the respect of the court.'
Legal 500 2025/Crime (General and Fraud)/Western Circuit/Leading Juniors
‘Tom is a concise, clear and intelligent advocate.’
Legal 500 2025/Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)/Western Circuit
Tom Horder both has considerable expertise in relation to health and safety matters at sea.
‘Tom is always very friendly, approachable and contactable. He quickly gets to the core of the issues and expresses his advice in a user-friendly manner. He has a good eye for detail and in court his submissions are well-crafted. He is also conscious of effective jury handling and decanting complex matters into the key facts in a digestible manner.’
Legal 500 2024/Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)/Western Circuit
Tom Horder is ranked in the Legal 500 2024/Crime (General and Fraud)/Western Circuit/Leading Juniors
'His knowledge is exceptional. There is no case he is not able to manage. He is a capable and effective cross examiner. He pursues the right legal arguments and is totally respected by the judiciary.'
Legal 500 2023/Crime (General and Fraud)/Leading Juniors/Western Circuit - Ranked Tier 1
‘Tom is very conscientious, hard working, and a top class lawyer. He is gentle and considerate with clients and a very good team player. Judges trust him, and his advocacy is highly persuasive.'
The ‘thorough and methodical‘ Tom Horder fields expertise in cases involving food safety, environmental and health and safety issues.
Legal 500 2023/Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)/Western Circuit
‘Tom is a charming, intellectually nimble advocate with an excellent client manner. Judges respect him and juries warm to him.’
Legal 500 2022/Crime (General and Fraud)/Leading Juniors/Western Circuit
‘ Tom is a very able barrister. He is an excellent, very persuasive advocate. His cross-examination is always well-considered and appropriate to the witness he is dealing with. He is hard-working and always well prepared. ’
Legal 500 2022/Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)/Western Circuit
‘He has sterling advocacy skills and exceptional levels of client empathy.’
Legal 500 2021/Crime/Leading juniors
‘Reliable and meticulous in his preparation for conferences and hearings with good presentation at trial.’
"Tom Horder is another key name within the set"Legal 500 2021/Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)/Leading Juniors
‘He is an exceptionally impressive advocate; calm and measured, with just the right amount of flair.'
Legal 500 2020/Crime/Leading juniors
‘His preparation is meticulous and he inspires confidence in his clients.’
Legal 500 2020/Regulatory, health and safety, and licensing/Leading Juniors
‘An unruffled barrister with a light touch.’
Legal 500 2018/19/Crime/Leading juniors
‘Experienced across a broad spectrum of criminal cases.’
Legal 500 2017/Crime/Leading juniors
'An excellent advocate with a strong courtroom presence.'
Legal 500 2016/Crime/Leading juniors
'He is led, and often leads, in some of the most complex cases, including those involving serious violence'
Legal 500 2015/Crime/Leading juniors
'Particularly highly regarded for his ability to handle the most serious and complex cases.'
Legal 500 2014/Crime
'...attracts praise, and is ‘very good at explaining procedure and tactics to clients’
'Particularly highly regarded for his ability to handle the most serious and complex cases'Legal 500 2013/Crime
"I would like to thank you for your diligent work on this case. Your client care and commitment to the case was exceptional. Your willingness to “go the extra mile” was impressive and proved crucial. Your planning and delivery of the cross examination proved decisive. An ok case (partly because of the statute) transformed into a strong case, according to his honour the Judge, before our very eyes, as our opponent was exposed as a liar."
Instructing solicitor, 2017
"Tom was brilliant, stood head and shoulders above the other barristers"
Instructing solicitor, 2016
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3PB Barristers congratulates its first-class Criminal and Regulatory Law team for another strong result in Chambers and Partners’ 2025 edition. Not only has the team retained its Band 1 ranking for Crime in the Western Circuit, with 10 of its practitioners ranked in this area of law, it has also added 2 new rankings for Health and Safety in Western, now totalling 3 ranked barristers. While our barristers are praised for their forensic analyses, strategic...
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3PB’s Criminal Law team has retained its top tier ranking in the Legal 500 for Crime (General and Fraud) in the Western Circuit and welcomes three new rankings: 14 of its 28 practitioners are now ranked by the Legal 500. In our clients’ words, “3PB is ‘a strong set with barristers of every level and specialism’ and continues to handle cases across a wide spectrum of serious criminal cases, spanning murders, large-scale drug conspiracies, sexual...
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Tom Horder (pictured here), who is co-head of 3PB's Tier 1 Crime team of barristers, has just concluded two back-to-back murder trials, both of which resulted in the acquittal of his clients. The first murder trial involved the widely publicised prosecution of the former Mayor of Winchester for attempting to kill his terminally-ill, 92 year old mother. Whilst the pathology evidence showed no evidence of a deliberate malicious act, in calls to the Police and...
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3PB's regulatory law and crime barrister Tom Horder, pictured here, acted for the Health and Safety Executive in the recently-concluded inquest into the death of Marine Benjamin McQueen. Marine McQueen tragically drowned during a military diving exercise in Portland Harbour. He experienced complications during the dive and was later recovered from the sea bed from a depth of about 18 metres. The Inquest, held over 3 weeks in the Royal Courts of Justice before Judge...
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