Deanna Heer KC

Practice Areas

Crime

Health and Safety

Career

Appointed Senior Treasury Counsel by the Attorney General, Deanna is a highly experienced criminal barrister who is regularly instructed in the most serious and high profile cases and accepts instructions on behalf of both the prosecution and the defence. For over a decade, she has specialised in cases of homicide. Since taking silk she has led the prosecutions of Jemma Mitchell for murder, following the discovery of a headless body on a cliff path, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, the children who murdered Brianna Ghey, Axel Rudakubana in respect of the Southport attack and Yostin Mosquera who murder two men and attempted to dispose of their bodies at the Clifton Suspension Bridge. She also led the first successful prosecution of assisting FGM committed abroad.

Deanna is also a highly regarded Health and Safety Lawyer, with many years of experience prosecuting multi-handed cases involving corporate defendants. She was instructed in the leading case of Tangerine Confectionary and Veolia and has conducted numerous trials involving complex, technical evidence. She also advises companies on potential liability for regulatory and statutory breaches. In 2024 she was named Health and Safety Silk of the Year at Chambers and Partners annual awards.

Professional Memberships

Criminal Bar Association

Health and Safety Lawyers Association

Publications

Contributor to Human Rights in Criminal Law (Bloomsbury Professional) and Disclosure in Criminal Pproceedings (Oxford University Press).