At this point we will be briefing Counsel for your case, they will appear at the Directions hearing and trial.
Briefing Counsel for your case is very important. Counsel and Barrister are two terms that mean the same thing. The person representing you may be Counsel from our firm or a Barrister from outside who we hire. Whoever it is, it is critical that they understand your matter clearly and are able to tell you what their strategy will be. There is no point having someone working for you who is not doing the hard work. They must learn the brief in its entirety and also take good instructions from you.
Briefing Counsel for your case in relation to sexual offences is particularly important. If found guilty of a sex crime you will generally be sentenced to a long time in prison if you are found guilty. You need to get Counsel/Barrister in place who knows the law and will fight hard on your behalf.
When we are briefing Counsel for your case, we use a number of barristers who do a lot of these cases for us. We use people who we know get good results for our clients.
It is very important to have continuity through this process if possible. The barrister or Counsel should be the one who did the committal as they have a good idea of what the witnesses will be like. The earlier counsel become involved in your case, the better they can understand it and defend it.
