Barrister
Specialist in Criminal Law, Inquest Law and CRB Law
Called to the Bar 1987

CRIMINAL LAW: Joe Barry practises in criminal law defence. He represents healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations in criminal trials and criminal appeals. He also represents lay people and non-medical organisations in criminal cases.

Joe Barry has twenty-five years continuous experience as a barrister and jury advocate, coming to the Bar in 1987 from a background of nursing and residential social work.

Although Joe has a wealth of experience in all areas of criminal defence and appeal work , he is particularly at home representing healthcare professionals and organisations in a criminal context. Joe's portfolio of past cases include representation of doctors in fraud and drug cases, particularly pharmaceutical fraud, together with representation of doctors and nurses accused of assault on patients and others. Joe recognises the particular pressures placed upon health care professionals accused of crime, particularly in a medical environment.

Joe also has particular interest in cases which involve medical/biological evidence such as DNA. He was instructed as defence counsel in the first "ear print" case and in opposing a series of cases involving (now discredited) attempts on the part of the prosecution to establish the age of young people by genital size and bone development. He has also defended in a manslaughter case concerning an allegation of maladministration of treatment. He has particular skill in communicating complex ideas to juries.

Joe was for some of his career a leading lecturer at City Law School (formerly the Inns of Court School of Law) for 10 years where he was Module Leader for Criminal Litigation, Criminal Evidence, Criminal Fraud and Financial Crime on the pre-eminent barristers training course. He also taught Criminal Advocacy and is an Inns of Court Accredited Advocacy Trainer. Although Joe continued to practice whilst in the academic world, he left teaching in 2010 to return to the Bar on a full-time basis.

INQUESTS: Joe has reprsented many interested parties at inquests over the years. Joe has on occasions been instructed by healthcare unions to represent healthcare practitioners at inquests, where there are complicated matters concerning causation of and contribution to death.

CRIMINAL RECORDS BUREAU (CRB) LAW: CRB Legal Advice, CRB Challenges, CRB Law and policy Guidance

[Joe Barry is not VAT Registered]