Joint heads of crime at GHP Legal awarded coveted Higher Rights
Two law firm Partners who are also joint heads of the region’s largest criminal law team have been awarded Higher Rights of Audience, entitling them to present cases in the higher courts.
Emma Simoes and Euros Jones, both partners of GHP Legal, can now exercise rights of audience in all criminal proceedings in the higher courts and judicial review proceedings arising from any criminal cause. This applies to all courts in England and Wales, including Crown Court, Court of Appeal and the House of Lords.
The Solicitors' Higher Rights of Audience Regulations 2010 came into effect on 1st April 2010. The one-off lifetime qualification is an accreditation issued by The Law Society to those solicitors who have significant experience of the higher civil or criminal courts. Figures issued by the Law Society in January this year showed there are less than 3,000 practicing criminal lawyers in England and Wales who hold Higher Rights of Audience.
Euros Jones joined GHP Legal as a trainee solicitor in 2000. He qualified as a solicitor in 2003 and became a partner of the firm in 2011. During his time on the Wrexham court circuit, he has gained a formidable reputation as a specialist trial advocate.
With an impressive list of successful cases to his name, Euros’s reputation as an advocate has seen him instructed by large international companies to deal with all aspects of regulatory work on both a local and national basis. Based at GHP Legal’s Wrexham head office, he is often instructed in complex and serious offences such as murder and manslaughter and has vast experience of dealing with drug conspiracies and fraud.
A fluent Welsh speaker, Euros has appeared on both Welsh and English TV and in the media as a legal commentator. Recently he publicly called for urgent action to be taken to protect
vulnerable youths, due to what he believes is inappropriate scheduling of youth court hearings in Wrexham Magistrates Court that leave youths waiting in a shared area with offenders who are awaiting hearings in the adult court.
Emma Simoes has specialised exclusively in criminal law since being admitted as a solicitor in 2010. Born and raised in Wrexham she has a wealth of experience in dealing with a diverse range of criminal cases in courts, as well as with DWP and local authority prosecutions. A member of the Law Society Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme, she became a Partner of GHP Legal in 2017 and is one of the founding partners of the firm’s Prison Law Department.
With offices in Oswestry, Llangollen and Wrexham, GHP Legal is one of the longest standing independent law firms in Shropshire and North Wales, and one of only just over a thousand firms in England and Wales that still hold a criminal legal aid contract.
Speaking today about her Higher Rights award, Emma said:
“Appearing in Crown Court trials used to be something reserved for barristers who would be briefed by solicitors before presenting a case to the court. This was clearly less than ideal in respect of providing continuity for the client.
“By having solicitors on the crime team who have Higher Rights of Audience it means that, as a firm, GHP Legal can offer clients a complete service from initial advice through to case preparation and presentation before the courts, whichever type of court that may be. The greatest advantage for the client of course is consistency.”
Euros added:
“Having the skills to conduct advocacy in the higher courts is a real advantage as it enables you to provide a complete advocacy service to clients and represent them throughout their case, wherever that may be. It means that I can personally argue my client’s case in court, present evidence, cross-examine witnesses and deliver closing arguments, and all without the need to instruct a barrister. Continuity and familiarity are everything in a criminal case.”
