Valeria Swift is a specialist criminal law barrister who is known for her persuasive advocacy, excellent client care and painstaking case preparation. She defends and prosecutes and has a strong track record for delivering results. She conducts most of her cases as sole counsel but is frequently instructed as junior counsel in appropriate cases. Valeria is multi-lingual, fluent in Spanish, French and Italian.
She is regularly instructed in matters relating to:
- Organised crime (particular expertise in covert and intelligence led operations, disclosure issues, and informant handling)
- Serious sexual offences (eg. rape, sexual assault, offences against children and the vulnerable, indecent images)
- Drugs (eg. major conspiracies, importations, possession with intent, cannabis factories)
- Serious violence and firearms offences
- Financial crime (fraud and money laundering)
- Complex and high value confiscation
Cases include:
- R v S - Multiple charges of historic rape and sexual assault by young man against five members of his family (Led junior)
- R v L - Major conspiracy to import drugs from Spain. Involved highly complex disclosure and PII issues; members of the conspiracy exposed as registered informants. Series of trials and appellate hearings spread over several years (Led junior)
- R v S - Organised team concerned in duty evasion fraud investigated by HMRC (Led junior)
- R v K - Major drug conspiracy involving extensive intrusive surveillance authorised under RIPA (Led junior)
- R v A&W - Importation of wholesale quantities of cocaine from West Indies
- R v H - Sexual assault in the workplace
- R v K - International child kidnap
- R v R - White-collar commercial and insolvency related criminal activity
- R v B - Importation of large consignment of Class A drugs from Africa
- R v N - Possession of firearm with intent and causing GBH
- R v VN - Male prostitute supplying Class A drugs to clientele
- R v G - Conspiracy to commit fraud on major UK retailer
- R v L - Police officer charged with outraging public decency
- R v S - Sexual assault of woman trapped inside home by tradesman
- R v T - Large scale cannabis production operation
- R v G - Causing death by careless driving
Languages:
Italian, French & Spanish.
Memberships:
Criminal Bar Association
South Eastern Circuit
Appointments:
Attorney General's Unified List of Counsel