Annie Fendrich

Annie regularly appears in the Crown Court, where she both prosecutes and defends.

Annie has also appeared in the Court of Appeal, challenging a sentence imposed for an offence of stalking involving serious alarm or distress.  Annie submitted that in assessing culpability the sentencing judge had failed to reflect her client’s vulnerabilities (including diagnoses of bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorder) and had incorrectly assessed the scope of the offence and level of distress intended.  Sentence was reduced from 2.5 years’ imprisonment to 40 weeks (R v DD [2022] EWCA Crim 1430).

Annie is frequently instructed to defend individuals alleged to have committed offences whilst in custody.  She is familiar with the Crime in Prison Referral Agreement and the Prisoner Discipline Procedures (Adjudications) PSI and has experience challenging decisions to prosecute on the basis that internal adjudication proceedings have, or ought to have been, pursued instead.  Annie has appeared in cases in which the actions of prison officers have been challenged as part of the defence case.  She has a detailed knowledge of a range of prison policy documents and is experienced in cross examining prison officers in relation to compliance with them.

Annie also has experience advising in relation to private prosecutions.  Previous instructions include assisting with the preparation of a proposed private prosecution raising issues of both domestic and Russian law and advising on the merits of a proposed private prosecution for an alleged multi-million pound fraud.

Annie is frequently instructed to draft representations to the Crown Prosecution Service concerning charging decisions, both challenging decisions to prosecute and in the context of the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme.

Annie is a CPS Grade 2 prosecutor and has experience prosecuting in cases of burglary, robbery, sexual offences, drug offences and offences against the person.  She has advised the CPS at both the pre- and post-charge stage in relation to a range of offences.

Recent Crown Court instructions include:

• R v KM (ongoing): Defending a client charged with disseminating terrorist publications (section 2 TA 2006) and professing membership of a terrorist organisation (section 11 TA 2000).
• R v JC (ongoing): Defending a mentally vulnerable client charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The case raises issues of fitness to plead.
• R v AY (ongoing): Defending in a multi-handed case concerning a conspiracy to convey a prohibited item into a prison.
• R v GW (ongoing): Defending a client charged with possessing a firearm and class A drugs with intent to supply.
• R v AB and others: Prosecution disclosure junior in a five-handed attempted murder trial (led by Tony Badenoch KC and Lucy Organ).
• R v DF: Defended a client charged with a knifepoint robbery. The defendant was acquitted.
• R v FR: Defended a client charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent in an attack on a prison officer. At the time of the offence, the defendant was serving an extended determinate sentence for attempted murder.  On the Crown’s sentencing categorisation, the life sentence provisions under section 283 of the Sentencing Act 2020 were engaged.  The court accepted the defence submissions on categorisation, and the defendant was sentenced to a further extended determinate sentence with a six-year custodial term.
• R v ON: Defended a mentally vulnerable young adult who had pleaded guilty to a public order offence which took place in his assisted living accommodation. The court was persuaded to deal with the case by way of absolute discharge following detailed written submissions.
• R v KJ: Defended a pregnant client who had pleaded guilty to possessing class A drugs with intent to supply. Following written submissions concerning the impact of custody on pregnancy and child-birth outcomes, the defendant was sentenced to a community order.
• R v AA: Defended a client who had pleaded guilty to a terrorism offence at the Central Criminal Court.

Annie has particular experience representing children and young people.  She frequently appears in the youth court on behalf of defendants at first appearance, trial and sentence. She has acted in cases involving bladed article offences, drug offences, theft, assault against an emergency worker and armed robbery.  Annie has completed specialist training with the Youth Justice Legal Centre.

Recent instructions in this area include:

• R v JT: Defended a vulnerable 18-year-old alleged to have assaulted two police officers during an arrest which occurred when he was 17. The case involved detailed cross examination of police witnesses concerning their duties when arresting a child.  The Crown offered no evidence on count 1 at the end of the prosecution case and the defendant was unanimously acquitted on count 2 by the jury.
• R v MM: Defended a 16-year-old charged with a second relevant bladed article offence. The client had a history of mental ill-health and self-harm and had been a looked-after child. Following extensive written submissions relating to the increased risk of self-harm for children in custody, the court was persuaded not to impose the statutory mandatory minimum sentence and instead disposed of the case by means of a Youth Rehabilitation Order.
• R v CD: Defended a child charged with a knife-point robbery. The proceedings involved legal argument on abuse of process relating to disclosure failures.  The Crown ultimately offered no evidence.
• R v LM: Defended a child facing multiple charges of assault on an emergency worker. Following successful legal argument on the availability of self-defence where it was not contended that a police officer was acting outside the exercise of their function, LM was acquitted of all but one of the charges.

Annie accepts instructions in corporate crime matters.  She has extensive experience acting as document review counsel on behalf of corporate clients.

Annie accepts instructions in public law cases, especially those with a link to criminal law.

Annie has a particular interest in prison law, including Parole Board hearings and adjudications.  She regularly acts on behalf of prisoners on a pro bono basis. Recent  work in this regard includes assisting a prisoner in preparing for upcoming adjudication proceedings, advising on the merits of an appeal against sentence and advising on appeal against conviction for grievous bodily harm in circumstances where adjudication proceedings had taken place before the case was referred to the police.

Prior to joining chambers, Annie was a legal volunteer at the Prisoners’ Advice Service, where her work included:

• Assisting a prisoner who was the victim of serious violence to obtain a transfer to another prison where there was a place on a vulnerable prisoner wing
• Assisting a prisoner with a long-term mental health condition to access medical treatment
• Advising a prisoner on her rights in relation to receiving visits from her children
• Assisting and advising prisoners on to the prison complaints procedure
• Advising prisoners at outreach clinics at HMP Thameside

Between 2022 and 2023, Annie was junior counsel for the Metropolitan Police Service on the Undercover Policing Inquiry.

Annie is a member of the Attorney General’s ‘Junior Junior’ Scheme.

• Contributor to the 6^th edition of Millington and Sutherland Williams on the Proceeds of Crime Contributor to the 5^th edition of Serious Fraud Investigation & Trial (Kingsley Napley and 6KBW College Hill)

  Assisted Katherine Hardcastle in updating Chapter D9 – ‘Disclosure’ in Blackstone’s Criminal Practice (2021 edition to date)

  “Why the Law on Indirect Discrimination is so Vital in the Fight for Equality’, Human Rights Pulse, 11 February 2021 (available here)

Prior to joining Chambers, Annie was Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice Floyd at the Court of Appeal, where her work had a particular focus on intellectual property law.

In 2017, Annie interned in the Office of the President at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, assisting Judge Carmel Agius in his capacity as both President of the Tribunal and Judge of the Appeals Chamber. She then spent four months at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, where she worked on a range of public law issues and was closely involved in drafting the bulletin for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Rule of Law. In 2016, Annie worked as a research assistant to Dr Jo Murkens in the Law Department of the London School of Economics.

During her BPTC year, Annie taught debating to prisoners at HMP Downview and HMP Wandsworth as a Vocalise mentor. She became a Director of Vocalise in 2018, for which she received the Gray’s Inn Treasurer’s award for excellence and dedication in service to the Inn.

Annie completed a Mathematics degree at Imperial College London in 2012 before studying Law at the London School of Economics, graduating in 2016 with First Class Honours.

• Treasurer’s Award, Gray’s Inn (2019)
• William Shaw Award, Gray’s Inn (2017)
• Winner, Brick Court Chambers Commercial Law Moot (2016) (Judged by Sir Richard Aitkens, HH Nicholas Chambers QC and Michael Bools QC)
• Winner, Landmark Chambers Public Law Moot (2016)
• Best Individual Mooter, 9-12 Bell Yard Criminal Law Moot (2016)

• BPTC, University of Law (2018)
• LLB, London School of Economics (2016)
• BSc Mathematics, Imperial College London (2012)

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