Practice Areas
Predominantly defence counsel, he has appeared as leading junior on many occasions.
In silk, his practice concentrates upon the most serious cases on the criminal calendar as well as regulatory and criminal cases of the utmost complexity. His clients have included professional people, including doctors and police officers, charged with frauds and misconduct relating to their work. He also appears in sports related litigation and tribunal work. He has advised and appeared in other jurisdictions including the Isle of Man and the Falkland Islands.
Michael Hayton’s regulatory work covers all areas of health and safety prosecutions and professional conduct. He specialises particularly in medical clients, acting for Doctors in inquests, criminal proceedings and professional conduct hearings. His coroners work regularly includes Article 2 death in custody inquests. He has appeared in many Health and Safety prosecutions for both corporate and individual clients, normally in cases involving fatalities or multiple serious injuries and often within the construction and food industries.
His practice in crime covers all areas, including fraud and other dishonesty offences; computer crime including breaches of copyright legislation; drug offences including significant conspiracies involving large amounts of both money and drugs; money laundering; sexual offences; firearms offences including the running of firearms to sectarian groups in Ireland; and offences of violence up to and regularly including murder. Michael Hayton’s practice is predominantly defence work, although he prosecutes for the Crown Prosecution Service including murder and has acted for other prosecuting authorities in regulatory prosecutions.
