Ben Nolan

Practice:

Ben's practice covers:

• Criminal Law
• Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
• Civil Law
• Civil Actions Against the Police.

Areas of specialism: 

• Murder & Manslaughter
• Violent Crime
• Sexual Offences
• Rape
• Sexual Abuse
• Child Abuse
• Fraud
• Drug-Related Crime
• Conspiracies
• Public Order
• Criminal Injury
• Fatal Accident
• Industrial Disease
• Injuries at Work
• Road Traffic
• Health & Safety

Experience:

Year of Call : 1971 Middle Temple
Silk : 1992

Described in Chambers 500 as "A well known Circuit heavyweight in Serious Crime", Ben has a wealth of experience in top level Crime.  During his 19 years in Silk he has led in over a hundred Murder cases, many of them Gangland killings involving ballistics evidence both in the UK and in other Commonwealth Jurisdictions. 

Of particular interest are cases with an international co-operation element such as extradition and the use of evidence obtained abroad pursuant to Letters of Request and The Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 and its statutory predecessors.  Ben has considerable experience in drugs smuggling cases involving massive importations into the UK and the alleged inducing of drug trafficking offences overseas.

He is considered to be a skilled cross-examiner of expert witnesses, particularly medical experts, and his skills have been deployed in alleged child killing cases (the so-called shaken baby syndrome) and in trials involving psychiatric issues.  Ben has been invited to review the medico-legal element of reference works on Forensic Psychiatry. 

In his Fraud practice Ben has developed a particular interest in food-safety frauds and is instructed to advise on the regulatory aspects of food safety and the enforcement of food safety standards.  In this respect, in particular, his practice crosses over from Crime to Regulatory and Civil Litigation, particularly in product liability cases.  He also undertakes Personal Injury claims involving catastrophic injuries and complex medical issues.  Although Head of Chambers in Newcastle, Ben also practices from Chambers in Leeds, Manchester and London.

Appointments:

• Recorder
• Deputy High Court Judge (Queen's Bench Division)
• Middle Temple - Bencher, 2004
• Head of Chambers

Memberships:

• North Eastern Circuit
• Criminal Bar Association
• Personal Injury Bar Association
• Professional Negligence Bar Association

Chambers & Partners:

 "A well-known circuit heavyweight in serious crime" (The Legal 500 2011)