Esther accepts instructions in Crime doing both defence and prosecution work.
Esther has received positive feedback for her work on cases, in addition to securing favourable outcomes for both the Crown and Instructing 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 Grade 2 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. Her detailed case preparation has resulted in her successfully defending those accused of a range of offences including racially aggravated ABH, assault on emergency workers, and more.
Esther also has experience defending appeals in the Crown Court for drug possession offences and public order offences. Esther defends in the Youth Court and has recently defended a Youth for multiple offences of Possession With the Intention to Supply (PWITS).
She is known for her personable and precise plea in mitigations to humanise defendants and secure favourable outcomes in a range of offences including breaches of a restraining order. Esther has successfully secured a suspended sentence for a defendant who was in possession of a bladed article (a machete), as well as securing a financial penalty in a dangerous driving case where members of the public were injured.
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.
Contact Esther’s Clerks
Andrew Thornton on 0113 213 5202
Rebecca Wilson on 0113 213 5203
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.
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 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.
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