Simon Spence Kc Frsa Dipabrsm Email & Phone Number

Simon has over 35 years' experience at the Bar. He specialises in cases of homicide and serious violence, sexual offences and fraud. He is ranked Tier 1 in Legal 500 2021 for the 3rd consecutive year.He has appeared in many high profile cases in East Anglia and was the prosecution junior in the case of Steve Wright, convicted of the murders in 2006 of 5 girls in Ipswich, a case which attracted global media attention and continues to fascinate the public and criminologists. Since taking silk, he has prosecuted and defended many murder cases and in 2009 successfully responded to the appeal of Simon Hall, a case involving the 'extremely complex' analysis of fibre evidence​. Hall subsequently admitted his guilt.In 2016, he defended a 15 year old double murderer, a cases which attracted national attention and has featured in four TV documentaries.He prosecuted the first ever private prosecution to be funded by a crowdfund appeal following the police's refusal to charge in a fatal accident case. The judge's ruling that there was a case to answer vindicated the decision to prosecute.In 2018 he prosecuted a 10 defendant child sex ring case in Birmingham, described by the trial judge as the worst case of its type he had ever seen. Since then he has prosecuted and defended several complex multi handed murder cases including one that featured in the BBC2 documentary ‘Murder 24/7’ and defended an ex-law lecturer for child sex offences.He has wide experience in regulatory cases, including Trading Standards, HSE and VOSA and recently advised Herefordshire Council in respect of protective injunctions for vulnerable adults in the Family Division of the High Court.He proudly represented pro bono the only barrister in the UK to face a wasted costs order arising out of the profession's dispute with the Government in early 2014 when a 'no returns' policy was implemented. The order was quashed.Away from work, he has a passion for the Performing Arts and opera in particular. He is a Trustee of @britishyouthopera and was a Trustee of Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmunds from 2000 to 2007 when it underwent a £5 million refurbishment. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is also an enthusiastic cook, amateur pianist (recently passing his DipABRSM diploma) and dog walker!Specialties: Cases involving disputed forensic evidenceCases involving cross-examination of vulnerable witnessesCases of factual complexity

Listed skills include Criminal Law, Courts, Legal Advice, Legal Assistance, and 30 others.