Solicitor with higher rights of audience V solicitor + barrister ?

[lowest ebb]

Hi

How did you get on in court?

many thanks

k

Well it's a while on since I wrote on my own thread! My son changed solictor to Gerry McDonald and barrister Nerida Hartford-Bell a few weeks ago. There were just too many question marks with the other guy and when I fianlly met him in person alarm bells started clanging and just wouldn't stop! I met Gerry and Nerida last week and found them both extremely competent and approachable and could see that they were really taking my son's case on board.
Court case starts next week... we're as well as can be expected, have had the added hassle of booking travel and accomodation, but the practical aspects are sorted now. I've had really good support, some excellent advice and as near to friendship as you could get from members of this site and we've been able to carry out some of the recommendations. It's very difficult to get one so young to realise this is serious, especially as he knows he did nothing wrong and to some extent that's been the hardest part. He said today, for the first time, that it's been hell for over a year now and has stopped him leading his life and although until recently this generated inertia on his part, he's finally come to realise that he needs to play an active part in his own defence.

[whatsgoingon?]

Hi lowest ebb, Thanks for asking. After a 5 full days of trial he got a not guilty. The jury was only out for 40 minutes in all.

We did absolutely the right thing changing legal teams. If you've read my post you'll see that, at the start, I was trying to defend first solicitor with higher rights because hope against hope we wanted to be able trust him . In the end I realised he was a total disaster and was just trying to earn trying to make a name for himself at my son's expense.

My son was suffering from shock induced inertia, he was on his own in the UK struggling on with his student life away from his family, so he didn't want to make waves. Although I felt the decision (which he was incapable of making) should come from him, I did try get into contact with Gerry and even Nerida earlier on without success. Eventually, only 2 months before the trial he managed to change despite being on legal aid.

From then on, everything was much simpler, we knew he would be well represented. To know you stand a good chance after having been in total despair is an amazing feeling. Gerry gave him a bit of a grilling to start with , but that's fair enough, a solicitor has to know who and what they're defending.During the trial Nerida was amazing, a pillar of strength, firm but respectful towards the alleged victim and managed to show the prosecuting barrister up for the vicious, vindictive oaf he was/is.

I realised several things:
- Trial by jury at crown court is a very serious business - you can't afford to have someone under parr representing you or your loved one. You need a specialised lawyer for such cases, someone who has experience and a known track record because unlike most other things someone can get charged with, often there is no evidence and one or other parties is lying (or not remembering).

- You can't rely on 'the truth coming out and justice being done'. You have to prove the truth, everything has to point at it, the jury has to be convinced of it and act on it. Unlike many other charges, often the jury has to decide whether a crime has been committed at all.

- This is your or your loved one's life and future at stake not your lawyer's or your barrister's however good a job they might be doing. It's important to totally famialiarise yourself with the case, what happened when, who's said what etc. because if they may miss something through lack of time or whatever (they're only human) you are in a position to bring it up or point it out to them.

- You only really get one shot....... if the person is convicted, they may be able to appeal, but that takes time and for someone who's never been in trouble, the first hours, days, week in prison are when the gretest damage will be done.

- For the solicitor/client relationship to work there has to be a certain amount of mutual trust . If you feel genuinly un-easy about your legal team and wish to change, do so early on, particularly if you're on legal aid.

- It's important to stay afloat, to find ways not to become obsessed with the situation. Living in fear and anxiety is exhausting and can lead to serious states of depression.

[Rights Fighter]

I have to say, that is an excellent post WGO!!

[miha81]

Mr.Jerry mcdonald

Hello everybody
Does anyone know if mr.Jerry mcdonald takes Legal Aid cases? Thank you

[Casehardened]

Hello everybody
Does anyone know if mr.Jerry mcdonald takes Legal Aid cases? Thank you

Hi and welcome to the forum,

I guess you mean Gerry McDonald; if so, yes he does take legal aid cases.

[can it get worse]

Your post brought tears to my eyes. And how right you are. It's crucial to have a team who know exactly what they are doing.

I have heard so much about Gerry and Nerida - they sound fabulous.

It is immensely comforting to know that there are genuine good people out there in this justice system.

I find it ironic that CPS have a section on their website called. 'Successes of the month' ! I'm in rant mode (again!) but I feel this is not appropriate when we read about so many injustices going on. The first 'success' that I read about is about streamlining the disclosure process. I would like to hear their angle on that. From our own experience and hearing about others on here, they keep the 'unused material' well away from the defence team. I would like to hear their justification for this.