Andrew Pearson

Andrew was admitted as a solicitor in 1982 and is a duty solicitor and higher court advocate in crime. During his time in practice, Andrew has provided advice and assistance at virtually every level within the criminal justice system. In recent years, he has developed a speciality with emphasis on white collar crime, serious fraud and regulatory matters. Andrew has been involved in several high-profile duty evasion and fraud cases including a multi-million-pound case described by West Midlands Police as the largest case of fraud they had ever investigated. Andrew was admitted to the List of Defence Counsel and Duty Counsel of the International Criminal Court in 2006. He was also appointed to the List of Counsel for the Special Tribunal for the Lebanon in 2010. Andrew remains as an Independent Adjudicator to the Legal Aid Agency dealing with High Cost Case Appeals. Of the many serious cases Andrew has been involved in over the years, the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Regina v Matthews remains important in dealing with the issue of ‘transactional legal privilege’ relating to the legal adviser’s role at the police station. He has also developed a specialism in representing young people on the autistic spectrum when they face potential prosecution and, in this regard, has defended a number of extremely vulnerable defendants charged with various crimes such as computer hacking, rape and possession of indecent images. In defending such individuals, Andrew has built a network of psychiatrists, psychologists, intermediaries and others with specialisms in this area to advance the best possible case on behalf of these disadvantaged individuals, ensuring that any result is fair and just. Andrew’s recent cases have included defending a former company director in respect of allegations of fraudulent trading which was prosecuted by the DVSA. When that case was stopped as an abuse of process, it subsequently led to the court making a multi-million-pound Defence Costs Order against the prosecuting authority. Most recently, Andrew has been involved in the representation of a high-profile client before the Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) securing core participant status for that client together with funding, and thus Andrew brings to the practice a detailed and in-depth knowledge of representation before public enquiries.