Esther Bukoye

Year of call:

2020

Appointments:

Grade 2 prosecutor

Awards:

2017 - Awarded a Pro-Bono Award for contributions to the statelessness Project at Liverpool Law Clinic

2017 - 1st Place winner in BPP's Advocate of the Year Competition for the North West and ranked 8th nationally

2019 - Awarded a medal by the Chancellor of the University of Liverpool for contributions made to the student community

2019 - BPP Career Commitment Scholarship

2020 - Finalist in BPP Leeds internal mooting competition

Esther Bukoye is listed as a “Rising Star” in The Legal 500 (2025) for Social Housing.

Esther accepts instructions from both tenants and landlords. She has been able to develop a busy housing law practice and has been instructed on a range of fast-track disrepair cases, possession cases, and has successfully opposed the imposition of a final charging order.

‘Esther is a tenacious, formidable advocate who is passionate about matters regarding social housing and achieving the best possible outcomes for her often very vulnerable clients.’ The Legal 500 (2025)

She has been able to acquire successful results for clients on both sides of the spectrum. Including successfully representing a tenant in a disrepair claim, and secured a significant amount in costs back for Instructing Solicitors, and a significant amount of general damages.

Esther has been instructed by and received positive feedback from a range of solicitors including Yorkshire Legal, Citizens Advice, Shelter and more. She has also had success representing clients in Pre-Action Disclosure (PAD) applications, and she has acted for the Police in securing closure orders as a result of anti-social behaviour.

Esther has developed a busy paper practice drafting particulars of claim, defences and counterclaims, and opinions involving proprietary estoppel, succession, Equality Act defences, disrepair, the public sector equality duty, trespass, homelessness and more. Esther has received high praise for the quality of her pleadings, her ability to understand a client’s case, as well as her quick turnaround time in producing papers.

Esther is keen to take on work across the full spectrum of housing. She has been able to quickly grasp what is an ever-changing area of law, and has frequently produced several articles, and webinars in this field.

In her prior role as a Civil Servant at the Department for Work and Pensions, Esther supported vulnerable members of the public through difficult periods of their life including dealing with housing matters, domestic violence and addiction issues. As such, Esther is able to display emotional intelligence and empathy when dealing with members of the public from all walks of life.

 

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Esther has been able to demonstrate a level of advocacy which belies her Call. This has allowed her to accept instructions from both the Crown and the Defence.

Esther has received positive feedback for her work on cases, in addition to securing favourable outcomes for both the Crown and Defence Solicitors, she is known for her ability to quickly build a rapport with her lay clients, her professionalism and her empathetic attitude when dealing with cases of a sensitive nature.

As a Prosecutor, Esther has developed a thorough understanding of a range of legal defences, and has used the surrounding caselaw to successfully disprove defences such as self-defence and duress of circumstances when prosecuting.

Esther has been able to develop a keen eye for detail and attain an understanding of rules of evidence such as, bad character, hearsay, disclosure and a wider understanding of complex legal arguments.

She has appeared in the Crown Court on behalf of the Crown in a range of trials and hearings involving fraud, domestic violence assaults, dangerous driving and more. Her wide experience has seen her secure convictions for the Crown in a range of offences including section 20 GBH, ABHs, stalking, and more.

When defending, Esther has demonstrated close analysis of the Crown’s evidence, and thorough cross-examination skills to reveal inconsistencies and undermine the Crown’s case. Esther also has experience defending in the Youth Court and has defended a Youth for multiple offences of Possession with the Intention to Supply drugs (PWITS).

Esther is known for her down-to-earth client handling skills. When dealing with clients who decide to plead guilty, Esther has been able to demonstrate personable and precise plea in mitigations in order to humanise defendants and secure favourable sentencing outcomes for her clients.

Prior to the Bar, Esther was awarded with an Advocacy Scholarship as a result of winning BPP’s 2017 Regional Advocate of the Year Competition where she placed 1st regionally, and 8th nationally.

Esther was the Student Speaker at her LLB Law graduation where she wrote and delivered a speech to 1,700 graduands, their families, the Executive Pro-Vice Chancellor and academic staff from the law department. Esther was subsequently awarded a medal by the Chancellor of the University after advocating for the rights of over 26,000 students in her role as elected Vice President of the Student Union. Esther then went on to place as a finalist in BPP Leeds internal mooting competition and received further scholarships for the BPTC such as the Career Commitment Scholarship which is awarded to individuals who demonstrate an aptitude for a legal career, strong work ethic and more.

 

“I had never been in Court before, and Esther made me feel reassured about every aspect of my case and explained matters clearly to me. In dealing with my case, she stood up for me, and truly listened. I finally felt like I had someone on my side for once. Her care, attentiveness, and advocacy were brilliant. She is truly one of the best.” – Lay Client

 

Notable Cases

 

  • R v JM – Counsel represented a client who had pleaded guilty to 1x ABH and 6x assaults against police officers & emergency workers. Notwithstanding the gravity of the offending, Counsel was able to persuade the Court to impose a suspended sentence.
  • R v CH – Counsel defended a lay client who had been charged with racially aggravated ABH. Despite the client entering a late guilty plea, Counsel was successful in preventing the sentencing Bench from imposing an immediate custodial sentence.
  • R v GC – Counsel successfully prosecuted a defendant who was convicted of perverting the course of justice, namely the Defendant provided false information to the police.
  • R v DA – Counsel defended a client who had pleaded guilty to 6x offences including dangerous driving and drug offences. Counsel was successful in elucidating personal mitigation on behalf of her client, resulting in the Court imposing a community order.
  • R v AR – Counsel successfully prosecuted a defendant for Robbery in a 4-day trial.
  • R v RW – Counsel defended a client in a 5-day trial pertaining to historic sexual offences.
  • R v JF – Counsel was instructed to represent a client who had pleaded guilty to causing injury to members of the public due to dangerous driving. Notwithstanding the seriousness of the offence and injuries sustained, Counsel was able to persuade the Bench to go outside the sentencing guidelines and impose a financial penalty.
  • R v MG – Counsel’s client was charged with breach of a restraining order. On the day of trial, Counsel made submissions which culminated in the Crown dropping all charges pertaining to the trial.
  • R v GR – Counsel successfully defended a client who was accused of assaulting a police officer. After representing him at trial, they were found not guilty.
  • R v KG – Counsel defended a client who was charged with sexual assault, ABH and racially aggravated ABH. At trial, the Defendant was successfully acquitted of racially aggravated ABH and ABH.
  • R v RH – Counsel successfully defended a client. On the day of trial, and upon making submissions, the Crown dropped a number of charges including: ABH, criminal damage, theft, and an affray.
  • R v EJ – Counsel defended a client who had been in possession of a machete. Counsel was successful in persuading the sentencing Court to impose a suspended sentence.

Contact Esther’s Clerks

Andrew Thornton on 0113 213 5202

Gina Hawkins on 0113 213 5205

Rebecca Wilson on 0113 213 5203

Hannah Dempsey on 0113 213 5211

Lucy Finney on 0113 213 5220

Esther is instructed in a range of civil hearings and applications including road traffic accidents. Esther has a particular interest in credit hire and is regularly instructed to represent both claimants and defendants. Due to her thorough understanding of the voluminous caselaw in credit hire claims, she has received positive feedback and has been successful in securing advantageous outcomes for her clients. Esther’s ability to represent both claimants and defendants has resulted in her attaining a solid understanding and appreciation of the nuances in credit hire claims as well as the surrounding caselaw. Esther is eager to accept instructions from both claimants and defendants.

 

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Esther welcomes instructions in Regulatory & Public Law, and has a keen interest in Education Law.

Esther has shadowed a range of hearings, such as SEND appeals and parole board hearings. In addition, Esther was instructed on a lengthy Health & Safety noting brief involving several counts of gross negligence manslaughter and corporate manslaughter.

In Esther’s prior role as Vice President, she developed a keen eye for detail having sat on several university Board of Discipline Panels, university Fitness to Practise Panels, and several university committees. She was also part of a panel to review the Truman Bodden Law School in the Cayman Islands. Her first-hand experience of applying various guidelines to differing sets of facts has allowed her to appreciate the nuances as well as the rigour applied when examining cases. She is keen to utilise her transferable experience and skills to build up her Regulatory & Public Law practice.

 

Contact Esther’s Clerks

 

Madeleine Gray on 0113 202 8603

Patrick Urbina on 0113 213 5250

Imogen Brown on 0113 2135225

Jenny Dwan on 01132135213