Rahman Ravelli Solicitors

Parity in Defending
Our view is that whatever resources and effort our opponent in litigation can contribute to a case, whether it be the CPS, Customs & Excise, the Serious Fraud Office etc, we can and will more than match it. What the client requires is pro-active defending and the best representation available. In any case, but particularly in a serious case, the client must be absolutely confident in his defence team - we never lose consciousness of the fact that our client, and his or her family, are putting their futures in our hands. It is a responsibility that we take seriously. Confidence is essential.

Pro-active Defence
There are three guiding principles that underpin the firm - these are the principles which we believe have inspired confidence from our clients and have been responsible for our continued success.

I. Resources
Frauds, large scale conspiracy allegations (eg drug trafficking see Covert/Human Rights) and others), multi-handed cases, offences of violence including Murder and other serious cases can generate huge volumes of used and unused evidence as well as other defence generated material. There has to be therefore a rigorous case-tracking, storage and cross-referencing file management system in place for any organisation dealing with this type of work. Our administrative and secretarial staff, as well as the lawyers and case-workers, are part of our case-management system, all understand the importance of dynamic case management.

II. Commitment.
The client must have access to his or her case-lawyer and the case-lawyer must be an integral part of the case-management systems in place. That way the defence are able to react instantly to each development in the case and provide the reassurance that the client needs as his or her trial date nears.

III. Pro-active defence preparation.
We believe that defending is not always just about deflecting accusations - it is about continual testing, probing, investigation and above all preparation. This is what we call pro-active defence preparation and it has been this principle above all which has cast our reputation as effective defenders. Preparation is everything in criminal litigation.

In any large, complex or serious case this may mean tackling novel or difficult areas of law. It is vital that our case-lawyers are able to identify any such arguments and any weaknesses in the prosecution's case. We only instruct counsel who are as passionate about defending as we are and are experts in their field. For example we acted for 'H' in the recent House of Lords case on Public Interest Immunity and disclosure; see R v H and C (Click here for Law report) February 2004, House of Lords.

All criminal allegations are serious for those on the receiving end and all cases benefit from the Rahman Ravelli principles. However, serious cases quite simply need a different level of planning and commitment than other cases. At Rahman Ravelli we have the experience to tackle such cases - we have successfully defended in a great many manslaughter and murder cases as well as multi-handed conspiracies, and financial trials. We also recently defended in a big 'supergrass' case resulting in an acquittal.

No one can foresee the future and we know that whatever reassurances a client has been given, waiting for trial will be likely to be an extremely anxious time. That's why the only reassurance you'll ever hear from this firm is that if we take a case on then it will benefit from the full application of our three guiding principles. It is that level of service which has established our reputation and benefited this business as well as a great many defendants and their families. In short we have a success rate to be proud of and a reputation to be envied.

Further advice

Contact our Serious Crime Department seriouscrime@rahmanravelli.co.uk

Or speak to one of our specialists:

Saracen House
10 Pellon Lane
Halifax, HX1 5SP
West Yorkshire

Tel: 0800 5593500 (24 hours)
Tel: +44 (0)1422 346666 (24 hours)
Fax: +44 (0)1422 430526

Drug Trafficking - conspiracies, supply, importation, prohibition

Conspiracy to Murder - to plan a death

Conspiracy - Law tactics and strategy in defending in conspiracy allegations

Offences of Dishonesty, Organised Crime Including racketeering and Financial Offences