Dan Pawson-Pounds KC

Criminal King's Counsel

dan.pawson-pounds@walnuthouse.co.uk

Criminal Law

Legal 500 2026 – Leading Junior Tier 1

Legal 500 2025 – Leading Junior Tier 1 – ‘Dan is an intelligent and persuasive advocate with an organised approach to his work.’ 

Legal 500 2024 – Leading Junior Tier 1 – ‘Dan has an unusual gravitas: it is clear to the jury when he speaks how important it is that they listen to what he says. His economy of expression is noticeable in both his drafting and his advocacy and his command of some of the most challenging areas of the criminal law is obvious. He is a very fine practitioner.’ 

Legal 500 2023 – Leading Junior Tier 2 – ‘An extremely effective cross-examiner, and a charming advocate that juries like and judges respect.’

Chambers and Partners 2026 – Band 3

Chambers and Partners 2025 – Band 3

Chambers and Partners 2024 – Band 3 – “Dan Pawson-Pounds is completely in control. He is completely unflappable and always ready to deal with every point that comes up.”
“Juries listen to him and he has great pace in the courtroom. He is also notable for his gravitas and is very good at reflecting the sense of importance of a matter.”
“Dan’s cross-examination is hugely well-structured, well thought out and it belies a huge amount of work outside of court. He is tenacious in the extreme and incredibly hard-working.”

Dan is the Head of Crime at Walnut House and Deputy Head of Chambers.

Dan has wide experience in all aspects of criminal law, quasi-criminal regulatory law, corporate investigations and international war crimes, both prosecuting and defending. His practice encompasses all aspects of criminal litigation, with particular expertise in terrorism, violent and sexual offences, and large-scale fraud, both in court and in an advisory role. He frequently appears in the Court of Appeal and is consistently listed as a leading practitioner in the Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 directories for Crime. Dan was appointed King’s Counsel in 2026.

• King’s Counsel (2026)
• Recorder – Crown Court (2023)
• Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Panel (2021)
• Crown Prosecution Service Panel – Grade 4 (2017)
• Crown Prosecution Service Specialist Serious Crime List – Grade 4 (2017)
• Crown Prosecution Service Specialist Counter Terrorism List – Grade 4 (2017)

Criminal Litigation

Overview

Dan has experience of the full range of criminal offences and has recently acted in cases of murder, terrorism, rape, large-scale importation of drugs, and complex fraud, both in the Crown Court and Courts Martial.

Before being appointed King’s Counsel, Dan was a Grade 4 prosecutor (the most senior level) for ten years. He is instructed in the most high profile terrorism cases. Among many such cases, Dan secured the first conviction of a defendant attempting to join the PKK in order to fight Daesh, the first conviction of a defendant planning to travel to the Philippines to join the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, the conviction of a defendant planning a bomb attack on a South London mosque, and the first conviction of a serving police officer for terrorism offences. Dan was also led in the recent successful prosecution of six Bulgarians for spying for Russia. He appeared in the Supreme Court in a case determining the scope of section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and its compatibility with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. As such, Dan has a great deal of experience in dealing with highly sensitive material as well as responding to complex disclosure and abuse of process arguments.

Dan has been a specialist serious sexual offences barrister for many years, both prosecuting and defending in the most grave and complex cases of rape and assault by penetration.

Dan has led the prosecution and defence teams in a number of murder cases and has wide experience of the specialist law in this area.

Dan frequently represents individuals who have been charged with criminal offences in high profile cases. He is regularly consulted about how best to engage with prosecuting authorities at the pre-trial stage of proceedings, as well as advising on the merits of any appeal to the Court of Appeal, drafting written submissions, and making oral arguments to the Court.

Regulatory

Overview

Dan has been instructed on behalf of regulatory bodies, such as the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and local authorities. He has dealt with offences of unauthorised provision of immigration services, trading standards, unlawful eviction, health and safety, environmental pollution and food hygiene, and defended in a test case brought by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Dan also represented a local councillor in another test case involving offences contrary to section 106 of the Local Government (Finance) Act 1992.

Public and Administrative Law

Overview

Dan receives instructions from the Government Legal Department to assist in high-profile, complicated and wide-ranging disclosure and witness preparation exercises. This has provided him with experience of the conduct of large-scale government litigation and the attendant issues of legal professional privilege, national security and the parameters of civil disclosure. He was instructed in four of the lead cases determining the application of negligence and human rights to military combat operations and, therefore, the scope of the Ministry of Defence’s duty of care to soldiers on operations. He has been instructed to assist in the responses to a number of appeals to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission and in a review by the High Court of the imposition of an Order under the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011. Dan is currently instructed as junior counsel for the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in litigation brought by a convicted terrorist against a number of government departments, which alleges their complicity in his torture in a foreign jurisdiction.

Corporate Crime and Investigations

Overview

Dan is familiar with the conduct and pressures of large-scale corporate investigations. He has advised a large multi-national media organisation in relation to Operations Weeting (phone hacking), Elveden (payments to public officials) and Tuleta (breaches of privacy and unlawful conduct) and he is very familiar with the sections and schedules of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 dealing with special procedure and excluded material, legal professional privilege, journalistic material and the seizure, retention and distribution of such material. He has also advised large corporate clients in relation to their responses to ‘section 2’ notices served by the SFO and Grand Jury subpoenas issued by the US Department of Justice in relation to alleged acts of bribery in multiple jurisdictions. He has also advised high net worth individuals in relation to HMRC investigations.