simon full 1 - Simon Laws KC

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

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

  • King's Counsel
  • Queen’s Counsel: 2011
  • Academic
  • Honorary Research Fellow, University of Exeter, College of Social Sciences and International Studies.
  • TWL
  • Also practices as an overseas consultant as part of TWL Legal Consulting Ltd (twl-legal.consulting)
  • Media work
  • Has acted as script consultant for dramas with a criminal justice element to tv production companies and for the National Theatre.
  • Channel 4
  • Appeared as prosecution counsel in Channel 4’s Consent in which a real jury tried a rape case.

Criminal Law team members