Michael Nelson practices exclusively in Criminal Defence and is currently instructed in a number of cases that have attracted nationwide publicity. Michael regularly leads and works throughout the country.

Michael gives regular lectures and is available to give in house lectures with advance notice.

Principle Areas of Practice
Criminal commercial/ financial fraud
Serious crime including drugs, violence and human traffic;
Financial and regulatory

Professional Associations
Criminal Bar Association
Free Representation Unit
Amnesty International, Lawyers Section

Other Associations
Member of the Tate Galleries
Friend of the Design Museum

Interests
Modern art, skiing.


Notable Cases

R v Cook and Others
Defence junior in a duty fraud case involving the illegal importation of over 163 million cigarettes. At the time, this was the biggest illegal importation of tobacco into the United Kingdom. The estimated loss to the Revenue was over £250 million.

R v Sansom & Others
‘ Operation New Barn’. Defence junior for the first defendant in multi-handed conspiracy to supply cocaine. The value of the cocaine was estimated in excess of several hundred thousand pounds. One strand of the defence was that the extensive use by the police of covert listening and video devices was in breach of the defendant’s human rights. This was heard before Parliament enacted the Human Rights Act 1998.

R v Neill and Others
Defence junior for the first defendant in a case alleging corruption in public office. After several weeks of legal argument the Crown offered no evidence on all 32 counts.

R v Oikonomopolous & Others
Defence for the first defendant in a conspiracy to “import” 24 illegal immigrants secreted in the chassis of a coach. This was the first such case involving the channel tunnel.

R v Akpoveta & Others
‘ The London Rolex Robberies’. Defence for the first defendant in a conspiracy to rob high-class jewellers on Bond Street, Mayfair and Knightsbridge. The case attracted a large amount of media attention.