Richard Atkins KC

Specialises in murder (including gangland, sado-masochistic and matrimonial killings); manslaughter (corporate, gross negligence, unlawful act and diminished responsibility); terrorism; complex fraud (Revenue, VAT, international and boiler room); serious sex; HSE; and consumer law cases. Defends and prosecutes. Regularly appears in the Court of Appeal: Lewis [2013] EWCA Crim 776 (jury irregularities); X [2013] EWCA Crim 818 (leading case on “commercial practice" and “transactional decisions” definitions in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008); Masih [2015] EWCA Crim 477 (overturned murder conviction); D&P 2016 (overturned Private Security Industry Act convictions when not instructed at first instance); Bajaj [2020] EWCA Crim 1111 (defeated prosecution £1 million POCA application); W M Morrisons PLC [2024] EWCA Crim 627 (upheld conviction following death of vulnerable employee who suffered from epilepsy and fell from staircase at work). An approachable and engaging advocate. Private, private prosecution, publicly funded and public access work accepted.

Head of St Philips Chambers (2020-2023); Chair of the Bar Council (2019); Vice-Chair of the Bar Council (2018); Leader of the Midland Circuit (2014-2017); Silk 2011; Called to the Bar 1989; Bencher of Gray’s Inn; Crown Court Recorder; Fee-paid Judge of the First-Tier Tribunal (Mental Health); Former Legal Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council Disciplinary Tribunal.

Criminal Bar Association; Association of Health and Safety Lawyers; Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers; Private Prosecutors Association; Midland Circuit; South Eastern Circuit.

King Henry VIII School, Coventry; St Catherine’s College, Oxford University; Past Chairman of the Governors of the Coventry School Foundation.