Criminal Law - Staff Profiles
Keith was born in Preston and is a lifelong supporter of Preston North End Football Club. Like all the Club’s fans, he is still waiting for another Tom Finney and Premiership status!
After Hutton Grammar School, he went to Bangor University where he studied Accountancy and Financial Administration before entering full time employment in the field of accountancy, first in private practice and then in the Magisterial Service. It was his arrival in the Court Service that led to a change of career.
Keith has practised as a Solicitor in Beaconsfield for more than 21 years. He has known Brian Wade, Caroline Dunne, Johanna Knott and a few others now with the Firm for some time through their previous association at Baily Gibson.
His specialist areas are Crime, Regulatory, Road Traffic, Data Protection and Entertainment Licensing.
Keith is a keen sportsman and over the years has played rugby, football, table tennis, badminton and tennis. Only tennis is actively pursued now, due to time constraints and body condition! He follows London Wasps, Saracens and Preston Grasshoppers.
His favourite film is the 1964 classic, Zulu, starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine and favourite music is by Queen.
Pet dislikes is timewasters.
Fact: Chebsey is a village near Stafford in the Midlands.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01494 670440
Email: mkc@chebsey.com
Caroline studied in Coventry and graduated with an honours degree in business law, and then became an articled clerk in Uxbridge where her interests moved towards criminal law. During this training period, Caroline also worked in the civil law department of that firm, but most of her work was on high-value criminal cases such as drug importations, money-laundering, firearms and murder.
Caroline also gained a great deal of prosecution experience during her training, and worked on many prosecutions on behalf of the RSPCA.
In 1992 Caroline qualified as a solicitor, and in 1993 moved to Bailey Gibson in Burnham High Street. Here Caroline continued working on serious cases including a high-profile murder that was covered by the media, multiple rapes, large quantity drug importations, and it would be difficult to list the offences of which she has no experience. Caroline became the head of the crime department at Bailey Gibson.
In addition to these areas, Caroline developed much road-traffic expertise, through preparing defences for most driving offences, and this included many high-profile defendants.
In this time Caroline had a high success rate with a great many ‘exceptional hardship’ arguments not to disqualify drivers, and also cases where the ‘special reasons’ arguing against endorsement of a licence were accepted. Caroline believes that in these and every case “the secret to success is thorough preparation”.
Caroline joined Chebsey & Co. in 2006 as the Head of the Crime and Regulatory Department to build and expand the department within new offices in Burnham High Street. She is a member of the local Police Station Duty Solicitor Scheme that provides 24-hour police station advice to suspects, and has been so since 1990. Caroline is also a Magistrates’ Court Duty Solicitor, where she advises clients charged in relation to the whole range of criminal offences.In 2006, Caroline obtained her Higher Rights of Audience in Criminal Proceedings and has appeared in the Crown Court as an advocate in relation to various serious offences.
On 1st August 2009 Chebsey & Co. became a company, and Caroline was appointed a Director.
Throughout her career Caroline has developed a particular interest and skill in advising vulnerable suspects and defendants, such as those with serious mental health issues, and has defended such people in a variety of cases including murder.
Caroline and her assistant, Pat Hayman, have worked together since 1993.
Caroline’s main interests include reading, which includes both fiction and non-fiction. She is also a member of a book group, and keeps an allotment.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: cad@chebsey.com
John qualified as a Solicitor in 1972 and has specialised in Criminal and Road Traffic Law for over 25 years. He ran his own practice in Slough and Reading for over 30 years before merging with Chebsey & Co on the 1st May 2007 and now works as a consultant.
John is a member of the local Police station Duty Solicitor schemes that provide 24 hour police station advice. He is also a Magistrates’ Court duty solicitor and undertakes defence work. John also provides representation for personnel in various official organizations.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: jgf@chebsey.com
Having graduated from Southampton University with an Honours degree in Law in 1994 Graham has represented people in relation to the full range of criminal charges, including rape and murder. He represents clients at all types of hearings both in the Magistrates Court, Crown Court and at the police station. Graham believes that no stone should be left unturned when preparing a case. It is this approach, together with his high standard of advocacy, which has resulted in an outstanding level of success both in winning trials and in securing the lightest possible penalties at sentencing hearings.
Graham has his Higher Rights of Audience in Criminal Proceedings, and has appeared in the Crown Court as an advocate in various matters.
Notable Cases :
In R v. Q Graham conducted the trial of a client facing a charge of racially aggravated assault before Oxford Crown Court. The complainant was completely discredited by his cross examination and the Court found his client not guilty.
In R v.T Graham defended a client charged with assault at a trial before Didcot Magistrates Court. His client’s claim that he was being framed to remove him from office was accepted and he was found not guilty.
Outside Interests:
Graham scuba-dives, and has dived all over the world and also loves travelling, having recently completed a trip to Everest Base Camp.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: gst@chebsey.com
Rachel was born and grew up in Wales and after a brush with drama school transferred to Preston where she studied for a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, this peaked her interest in Criminal Law and she stayed on to complete the post graduate diploma in Law.
Whilst studying for the post graduate diploma part time, Rachel worked fulltime at top legal aid firm Forbes Solicitors where she became an accredited police station representative representing clients arrested across the North West of England.
She then decided to return to her Welsh routes and began a training contract at Graham Evans and Partners in Swansea whilst attending the University of the West of England Law School studying for the Legal Practice Course.
Whilst working at Graham Evans Rachel was responsible for the managing of their Crown Court department and notably prepared the first Familial Homicide case in Wales, working closely with leading counsel with whom she is still in contact and who now sits as a Circuit Judge on the Wales and West Circuit.
Also at Graham Evans Rachel assisted with the firm’s Mental Health caseload, representing clients detained under the Mental Health Act.
Rachel joined Chebsey & Co. in January 2010 as a Criminal Solicitor. She is a member of the local Police Station Duty Solicitor Scheme that provides 24-hour police station advice for those arrested for the full spectrum of criminal offences. Rachel is also a Magistrates’ Court duty Solicitor appearing in the local courts representing those who don’t have legal representation at Court.
Rachel also has a particular interest and expertise in Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings, of which she has had much experience.
Since Joining Chebsey and Co. Rachel has continued her professional development, striving to obtain her Higher Rights of Audience enabling her to provide the full range of advocacy to clients from the police station through to the High Court.
When Rachel manages to find some spare time she has a passion for reading and going to the theatre.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: rda@chebsey.com
Having studied in Reading and then Epsom, Simon joined a Windsor firm of solicitors where he worked for 24 ½ years. He initially worked in civil and matrimonial law, representing clients in the local county courts and the Royal Courts of Justice, dealing with the issue of proceedings, interlocutory hearings, possession proceedings through to arbitrations and small claims.
Simon’s interest moved towards criminal work in 1986, and in that year he qualified to join the local Police Station Duty Solicitor Scheme that provides 24-hour police station advice to suspects. He has defended suspects in the police station since then and so has significant expertise in this complex area. Simon qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1988.
At Chebsey & Co. Simon has had experience in virtually every type of criminal case and has prepared defences covering the whole spectrum of offending behaviour from e.g. public order offences and shoplifting to rapes and murder cases. In dealing with such a broad range of offences, Simon believes that notwithstanding the severity of an offence, each client should be afforded the same high level of care and attention.
A notable case Simon worked on was a murder involving the sensitive issue of a pensioner that killed his wife who was struggling with cancer. Simon has experience in most other serious offences for example a £1.7m drug importation case, a rape involving multiple defendants, and various cases of child abuse and indecent internet pornography.
Simon has considerable experience and expertise in the increasingly important Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and regularly prepares the defence to each stage of confiscation proceedings under the Act having experience with proceedings where the recoverable amounts have ranged from just £50 to in excess of £1m.
Simon works on every stage of a case from arrest to trial or sentence, and has wide experience advising various clients from all backgrounds from professionals to vulnerable clients such as those with mental health issues or juveniles.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: sif@chebsey.com
John has wide ranging legal experience which started aged 18 when he joined Her Majesty’s Courts Service, where he stayed for 17 years and worked his way up to Principal Court clerk. During the latter part of his career in the court service he met Keith Chebsey, who was at that time also a Principal in the Cornish court service.
From 1987-2007 John served as a police officer in the Thames Valley Police and during this time decided it would be a good idea to refresh his legal knowledge. John read for his law degree in his spare time with the external programme of London University, graduating in 2000.
From 2000 to 2002 John was seconded by his Chief Constable to the post of Community Safety Director with the Thames Valley Partnership, a charity working in the field of crime reduction. The work was varied ranging from giving advice to the Home Office and other government agencies on crime reduction, to practical programmes to divert young people away from offending.
On retiring from the police in 2007 John rejoined his former colleague Keith, this time with Chebsey & Co, bringing his varied skills and knowledge that have been of great benefit to our clients. His expertise in police procedure and practice is put to use throughout case preparation, for example through investigation, the tracing of additional witnesses and crime scene photography. Such expertise from the policing perspective is a rare asset within criminal defence solicitors.
John has used his expertise at Chebsey & Co. across a broad range of criminal offences, ranging from minor offences to serious assaults.
Road traffic law is a particular area of John's expertise having as a police officer attended many traffic accidents. "Traffic collisions are not always as they seem at first glance. There is frequently a need to investigate further when a client's initial instructions have been taken. In very serious cases we may go on to seek further work in accident reconstruction and we know who to work with and how to get the best out of them without wasting money."
If it is a case of licence penalty points following a series of minor offences the consequences for a client can still be serious as loss of a driving licence can lead to problems staying in a job or running a business, not to mention increased insurance premiums. He adds, "Loss of your licence is not inevitable, often we can help and persuade the court not to impose disqualification."
John’s other areas of expertise include various aspects of regulatory law such as industrial standards e.g. CEN, ISO and Personal Protective Equipment.
In addition to his work for Chebsey & Co., John is an expert in matters related to motorcycle engineering and he has been a motorcyclist for over forty years. In his twenties and thirties he was a competitor in amateur motorcycle racing and now advises the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme the world governing body for professional motorcycle sports.
John is a technical expert on road safety and represents the FIM to various institutions in Europe, including the European Transport Safety Council, the European Commission and the United Nations Road Safety Forum in Geneva.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: jcr@chebsey.com
Amy was born and raised in the local area and attended Dr Challoner’s High School, knowing from a young age that she wanted to pursue a career in law.
After graduating from the University of Essex with an Honours degree in Law, Amy went on to study the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law, Bloomsbury.
She initially joined the firm in 2008, working part time whilst she completed her studies and beginning full time in June 2009.
Amy is a trainee police station accredited representative and is able to provide 24 hour police station advice.
Amy is involved in all aspects of defence work and has recently worked on a four week multi-handed rape trial in which the defendant was acquitted. She has wide experience in offences such as robberies, burglaries and GBH as well as more minor offences such as thefts and driving offences.
As well as undertaking defence work, Amy has considerable experience in prosecuting on behalf of various Local Authorities in the surrounding area. Amy works on numerous high value fraud cases and has recently successfully helped gain a conviction in a £30,000 benefit fraud. She is also currently advising on and preparing cases of benefit fraud approaching £100,000. Amy is also experienced with confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, most recently securing an Order in excess of £125,000 on behalf of the Local Authority.
Amy has a keen interest in horse riding, being a member of the British Show Jumping Association and competing semi-professionally at a younger age. She also enjoys reading and walking.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: amf@chebsey.com
Originally from Weston-super-Mare near Bristol, Alex had initially started the lengthy training to become an architect and obtained an Honours degree in architecture from the University of Portsmouth. He decided he did not want a career in that field and worked in a large financial services company for a year.
Alex then moved to Sheffield and studied for an M.A. in law at the University of Sheffield, graduating in 2008, with a focus on criminal law. Following this Alex returned to Bristol where he completed the Legal Practice Course at the University of the West of England, again with an emphasis on criminal litigation.
Throughout this time at university Alex volunteered as an advice worker, which included working in a Sheffield city-centre advice centre that helped its clients with general legal advice and then also with a similar scheme in Bristol that helped the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
Alex joined Chebsey & Co. in 2009 where he has helped prepare criminal defence cases. He has worked on various offences including the preparation of the defence in a 3-week multiple count rape trial in Croydon Crown Court and a 6-week perverting the course of justice trial, which was so serious that the case was covered in national newspapers.
Alex is also a trainee Police Station Accredited Representative, giving 24-hour advice to those arrested and detained in the police station.
Alex enjoys playing badminton and has played competitively in the past and hopes to play more. His other interests include film and travelling, having recently briefly travelled from Canada to the United States.
Contact Details:-
Tel: 01628 600850
Email: aah@chebsey.com
