Paul Phillips

Year of Call: 1991 LLB
Affiliations: Criminal Bar Association
Specialist Areas: Serious Crime, Homicide, Serious Violent Offences, Firearms, Large Drugs Related Offences, Serious Fraud & White Collar Crime

Biography Cases

A criminal defence practitioner, specializing in serious and complex crime, particularly cases of serious violence and complicated fraud, with considerable experience of junior and leading work. 

Often instructed at first instance to ensure continuity of representation throughout complex proceedings.

Approachable and available outside normal working hours to assist solicitors with any aspect of the case.

Recent trials, (from 2005 to date) include:

Murder:

R v Aijula - Maidstone CC. The defendant was the brother of a man charged with murder. The Crown alleged that he had burnt his brother’s clothes and cleaned items used in the murder.

R v Ali - Eight month trial at the CCC. The Crown alleged that the defendant was a member of a gang of 16 youths who killed two people in a street fight in Tooting.

R v Brown - CCC. The defendant was charged with the murder of a shop keeper in Brixton during an argument over an orange. The case attracted considerable media attention.

R v Gordon - CCC. Defendant was allegedly a member of a professional gang who were hired to kill a prison warden in south London.

R v Hayles - CCC. The defendant, a youth, was jointly charged with another, with the murder of a man, in the course of a robbery.

R v Jermey - CCC. The defendant was charged with the murder of his wife. The Crown’s case was that he strangled her and then set fire to the family home.

R v King - CCC. The defendant was charged with Assisting an Offender, in that she disposed of items used to commit a murder.

Rv Lattimore - St Albans CC. The defendant was allegedly a member of a professional gang who kidnapped, tortured and decapitated the deceased over a drug debt.

R v Mason - CCC. The defendant, a youth, was allegedly a member of a gang who killed a member of another gang in Hammersmith.

R v Olokun - CCC. The defendant was charged with the murder of an architect in the course of a robbery.

R v Preddie - CCC. Leading Counsel representing the defendant a youth, who was allegedly a member of a gang who killed a member of another gang in Tooting.

R v Thompson - Woolwich CC. The defendant was allegedly a drug smuggler who disemboweled a drug courier in order to obtain drugs.

R v Walters - CCC. The defendant and another were charged with the murder of a drug dealer in Brixton.

Money Laundering and Fraud:

R v Attaya - Croydon CC. Leading counsel. An international conspiracy to defraud the central clearing banks of £3.9 million.

R v Buransky - Snaresbrook CC. Conspiracy to commit large scale commercial burglaries of film and music studios.

R v Dinn - Maidstone CC. Leading counsel. Commercial importation of tobacco from Spain, and the evasion of duty.

R v Gordon - Kingston CC. Leading counsel. A case involving the large scale facilitation of illegal immigrants from the Caribbean into the UK and the subsequent laundering of the proceeds. 

R v Haynes - At Liverpool CC. A conspiracy to commercially counterfeit DVDs and CDs. A prosecution brought by the British Phonographic Industry.

R v Holt - Southwark CC. Leading counsel. An international case of “car ringing”, whereby false import certificates were obtained for stolen high value cars.

R v Powell - Kingston CC. Leading counsel. The case involved allegations of international money laundering involving the proceeds of commercial burglary.

R v Rankin - Canterbury CC. Leading counsel. Money laundering via bureau de change in London. This case is reported as the landmark case of R v Montilla HL[2005] 1 All E. R. 113. 

R v Utku - Kingston CC. The prosecution was based upon a 15 month covert investigation into “people smuggling” from Turkey and the subsequent “laundering” of the proceeds.

R v Yazdanian - Southwark CC. Leading counsel. “Boiler room” fraud, involving the sale of fraudulent shares and breaches of FISMA regulations.

Drugs: