Catherine Farrelly KC

Practice Areas

Catherine Farrelly KC acts for the prosecution and the defence in cases of homicide, organised crime and serious sexual offending.

She is highly respected in cases involving sexual offending and is often instructed pre and post charge in high-profile and legally complex cases, providing advice to both the prosecution and defence as well as to complainants seeking to appeal decisions by the police and CPS not to charge.

Catherine’s faultless attention to detail, procedural expertise and ability to get the best out of vulnerable and anxious witnesses set her apart. She has great emotional intelligence and is able to connect with and put at ease witnesses and defendants. The ability to establish trust and build rapport with individuals who have been traumatised or who might be suspicious of or intimidated by the legal process is a key part of her success.

She has been instructed in the cases of some of the UK’s most prolific offenders and is widely recognised as a technical expert – a go to in complex and challenging cases that require technical knowledge, determination and sensitivity. She is also a first choice for cases with an international dimension. She has a wide experience of assisting in drafting ILORs, arguing the admissibility of foreign evidence and mutual legal assistance more generally.

Career

Recent cases involve prosecuting the Gray's Inn bomb plot, the high-profile prosecutions of Metropolitan Police officers for serious sexual offences and the prosecution of notorious serial rapist, Zhenhao Zou.