Profile
“He is an absolute stand-out performer.” – Chambers & Partners, 2023
“Alexander Leach KC is an excellent advocate. He is meticulous in his preparation and always provides a clear analysis of the issues to clients.” – Chambers & Partners, 2023
“Alex was one of the most highly regarded juniors on circuit and there is no doubt he will be one of the most highly regarded silks for many years to come.” – Legal 500, 2023
Alex is a leading criminal practitioner who has prosecuted and defended in some of the most high-profile criminal cases of recent years.
Alex is described as calm, brilliant with clients and very thorough which is shown through his work in many different areas. Alex is a specialist in four principle areas which include Murder, Serious Organised Crime, Fraud and Rape and Sexual Abuse cases.
Prior to taking silk, Alex sat on the CPS panels at level 4 for Serious Crime, Fraud, Confiscation, Rape and Serious Sexual Abuse and Counter Terrorism. Alex also conducts an appellate practice, dealing recently with conviction appeals relating to historic convictions.
Alex is Direct Access Qualified.
Expertise
Alex has significant experience of prosecuting and defending in serious and complex fraud cases. His practice includes cases in which he is engaged, pre-charge, to provide strategic advice on the implications of multi-handed litigation. Alex’s experience extends into often intricate confiscation proceedings, which reach into areas of international jurisdiction and corporate money laundering structures.
- R v B,B,F and others – Prosecution counsel, leading Rachel Cooper, in a 10 handed, joint HMRC and Insolvency Service prosecution. The case involves allegations that defendants constructed a complex network of businesses, with the sole intention of conducting a wholesale exploitation of the VAT regime.
- R v Bone and others – Alex was instructed as leading counsel to represent a defendant charged with orchestrating a multi-investor property portfolio fraud. Alex led a team comprised of junior counsel, specialist fraud solicitors and a forensic accountant in their detailed examination of the enormous volume of material relied upon by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Alex has extensive experience of both prosecuting and defending in cases involving serious organised crime and murder. Alex was instructed as one of the leading silks in the sequence of cases that emerged from Operation Venetic. Alex continues to receive instructions in cases where legal argument capable of developing the principles surrounding this work is involved. Alex is also commonly instructed in high-profile, complex and multi-handed murder cases, both for the prosecution and the defence. Alex has established particular expertise in cases that rely upon substantial digital presentation packages and in cases involving developing areas of specialist medical evidence.
- R v A, B, D & C – Prosecution counsel, instructed in the leading Operation Venetic case, in which evidence acquired by international law enforcement, from the encrypted EncroChat network is relied upon. The investigation was described by the Home Secretary as “a game changing moment in our fight to tackle serious and organised crime”. Legal argument concerning the application of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) led to a ruling by the Lord Chief Justice that broke new ground when considering the scope of IPA. The case is ongoing.
- R v Jonathan Gordon – Prosecution counsel, leading Ellen Shaw, instructed in this case, which arose out of an NCA investigation into a hitman, engaged by those involved in serious organised crime, to conduct acid attacks and shootings in Merseyside. The case relied upon data recovered from the EncroChat network.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10860181/Gangland-enforcer-charged-6-000-attack-victims-acid-10-000-blind-them.html - R v Suleman Altaf – Prosecution Counsel, leading Isobel Thomas, in nationally reported murder trial. Defendant convicted of planning and attempting the murder of his estranged partner, and the murder of her son who intervened in the attack to save her. Following the stabbings the defendant fled to the south coast with the intention of escaping by crossing the English channel in an inflatable dinghy. Defendant sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum period of 30 years. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12374225/Cowardly-killer-tried-flee-Britain-dinghy- murdering-estranged-partners-son-teenager-stepped-stop-stabbing-mother-jailed-life.html
Alex is regularly instructed to defend in the full spectrum of sexual offences work, on a private client basis. Alex often provides pre-charge, strategic advice and written representations, designed to obtain the best outcomes at the earliest stage.
Where criminal charges are unavoidable, Alex is able to offer a highly client focussed service, either by deploying an expert approach to trial or by building specialist packages of mitigation, designed to lead to rehabilitative sentencing.
Further examples of private client work and outcomes are available on request.
- R v O – Alex was instructed as leading counsel in a child sexual exploitation prosecution involving 11 complainants in Rochdale. The case turned on the review of a substantial volume of social media material and involved the sensitive handling of child complainants with complex backgrounds.
- R v N – Alex was instructed in this case which involved allegations of child rape, assault and sexual abuse of three different children spread across two different families. The case involved a great deal of material from social networking sources.
