
Simon Laws KC
Criminal King's Counsel
- Year of Call
- 1991
In May 2021, Simon Laws KC was instructed to represent the victims in a trial in The Hague in which the former President of Kosovo and three others are being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The proceedings are ongoing and Mr Laws is therefore currently unable to accept other instructions.
Recommendations
Chambers and Partners 2026 Spotlight: International Criminal Law
Individual Editorial
Simon Laws KC is a highly regarded silk with experience representing both prosecution and defence in international criminal law cases. He has previously been instructed as a prosecutor for the UN at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia in a war crimes and crimes against humanity trial of six political and military leaders. He has further experience representing victims in The Hague.
Strengths
“Simon Laws is fantastic and an extraordinary advocate.”
In his last full year of domestic practice (2020), he was ranked in Band 1 by Chambers and Partners who described him as: –
“An incredibly bright lawyer with a lovely manner”
Band 1 – Chambers and Partners 2020
Criminal Law
Simon Laws KC has practised exclusively in criminal law for over 30 years.
He represents both the prosecution and the defence.
In the course of his career he has appeared in a very wide range of criminal cases including war crimes, homicide, frauds, sexual offences, drugs cases and cases involving police officers as defendants.
He has extensive experience in managing large and complex cases for both sides.
From 2008-2010 he was employed by the UN as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in a trial of six political and military leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Since taking silk in 2011 he has specialized almost exclusively in homicide cases. He has acted in murders of many different kinds (within families/ by partners/ strangers/ for gain/ revenge/sexual motivation/mentally ill defendants).
He has been ranked by Chambers and Partners for the last 10 years.
He accepts instructions in Public Access cases.
Biographical and Other Information
- Queen’s Counsel: 2011
- Honorary Research Fellow, University of Exeter, College of Social Sciences and International Studies.
- Also practices as an overseas consultant as part of TWL Legal Consulting Ltd (twl-legal.consulting)
- Has acted as script consultant for dramas with a criminal justice element to tv production companies and for the National Theatre.
- Appeared as prosecution counsel in Channel 4’s Consent in which a real jury tried a rape case.
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.
Heather was called in 1993 and after having practiced in a leading criminal set in London for 22yrs, moved to the South West in 2015. Heather has prosecuted and defended in large-scale drug cases, gang violence and firearms cases along with rape and serious sexual offences. Heather has also defended and prosecuted as a led junior in murder trials at the Central Criminal Court and as leading junior counsel in numerous trials more recently. Grade 4 and RASSO panel Counsel.