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  • 5 King's Bench Walk, Temple, London EC4Y 7DN
  • T: +44 (0) 20 7353 5638
  • clerks@5kbw.co.uk
  • Out of Hours: 07738 328059
  • DX: LDE 367 London
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Practice Profile

Sam is a specialist criminal barrister, instructed for both prosecution and defence. His practice is focused on serious and complex cases, usually involving organised crime, violence, firearms, drugs, and fraud. He is on the CPS General Crime, Serious Crime, and Fraud Panels at Level 3.

As a committed advocate, Sam places great emphasis on thorough preparation and engaging with the real issues in a case, allowing for first-class advocacy before judge or jury. Formerly an IT developer, Sam is at ease conducting cases involving digital evidence. He draws on his experience to quickly analyse and present high-volumes of complex information. He is experienced with cases consisting of many moving parts, usually involving complex facts, multiple defendants, and lots of pieces of evidence to sift through.

Recent instructions have included:

  • Leading junior in an eight-handed money laundering case arising from a sophisticated fraud against a telecommunications company (Op Typhoon).
  • Sole and led junior in various 'Operation Venetic' EncroChat prosecutions, including a seven-handed conspiracy to supply cocaine and a three-week trial involving technical admissibility challenges (Ops Caliadne, Localizer, Script, Serious, Sunshine, and Widthwise)
  • Led junior in a 10-handed conspiracy to supply 780kg of cocaine that the defendants tried to intercept as the container it was in was moved from port to warehouse (Op Narrative).
  • Led junior in a 16-week importation trial, involving 270kg of cocaine, 2500kg of cannabis and 18.6m duty-free cigarettes hidden inside shipping containers (Op Tamora).
  • Led junior in an attempted murder arising from the alleged sale of a revolver, where a 12-bore shotgun was then fired twice through the letterbox of a dwelling (Ops Vivalas and Kikifeet).
  • Led junior in the final trial of Operation Melrose, the investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found inside a lorry in Essex in 2019.
  • Led junior in a 'Flying Squad' conspiracy focused on an OCG committing a series of robberies and burglaries across London (Op Forte).
  • Led junior in a complex diminished responsibility murder trial, prosecuting a defendant with a previous conviction for an unlawful killing in similar circumstances.
  • Sole junior in a sophisticated fraud involving complex computing evidence, where the defendants had created a website to steal online banking information (Op Tablemaking).
  • Sole junior in a computer misuse and fraud case, where the defendants had allegedly sold access to the NHS Covid-19 vaccination database (Op Bluejay).
  • Sole junior in a three-handed conspiracy to defraud a vulnerable victim of £170k.

Sam has also been instructed in several long-term projects, including the Post Office 'Horizon' disclosure review, an SFO disclosure review, and a secondment to one of the CPS Crown Court teams. He was a keynote speaker at the Cityforum Digital Forensics Summit, presenting on the uses of digital forensic evidence in jury trials.

Outside of law, Sam is a keen skier, snowboarder, and scuba diver. He previously competed internationally for Great Britain in Canoe Marathon.

Sam's Privacy Policy can be downloaded here.

Appointments

  • CPS General Crime Panel at Level 3.
  • CPS Specialist Serious Crime Group Panel at Level 3.
  • CPS Specialist Fraud Panel at Level 3.
  • CPS Specialist Proceeds of Crime Panel at Level 2.
  • The Bar Council IT Panel.

Qualifications

  • MPhil, Criminology, University of Cambridge.
  • LLB, Law, University of East Anglia.

Scholarships and Prizes

  • Sir Louis Gluckstein Prize for advocacy - Lincoln’s Inn.
  • Levitt Scholarship - Lincoln’s Inn.
  • Buchanan Prize - Lincoln’s Inn.
  • Lord Denning Scholarship - Lincoln’s Inn.
  • Hardwicke Scholarship - Lincoln’s Inn.
  • Runner-Up, Law Reform Essay Competition - Bar Council.
  • Clare Hall Bursary - Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.
  • Prize for Exceptional Achievement - University of East Anglia.

Publications

Sam is the author of 'A Practical Guide to Digital Communications Evidence in Criminal Law' - a textbook aimed at practitioners looking to understand the most common types of digital communications evidence used in criminal prosecutions. It can be purchased directly from the publisher or from Wildy. A sample chapter is available here. He has also been asked to present Webinars on digital evidence, specifically 'Using Mobile Telephone Data' and 'Call Data, Cell Sites, and Internet Records'.

Sam also publishes a free weekly 'updater' of criminal law news - intended for practitioners, law students, and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. You can subscribe to Witness here.

Sam has published two mobile apps for criminal lawyers. Crime Fees is a free criminal legal aid calculator for barristers and solicitors. Available for iOS, Android and macOS, it can be downloaded here. Crime QRH is an easy to use guide to criminal offences for criminal lawyers and court advocates - a searchable database providing quick access to key details e.g. max sentence, guidelines, class of offence, dangerousness provisions. Available for iOS, Android and macOS, it can be downloaded here.

Recent Advisory Work

  • Disclosure Junior - CPS (major pre-charge investigation).
  • Disclosure Junior - CPS (Op Tarthra - murder).
  • Disclosure Junior - CPS (Home Office immigration fraud).
  • Post-Conviction Disclosure Review - Post Office 'Horizon' Cases.
  • Disclosure Review - SFO (fraud).
  • Secondment - CPS East of England Crown Court Unit.​

News

Aggravated Burglary Acquittal

3 October 2024

Jason Cross and Sam Willis represented a brother and sister charged alongside... Read More

Series of Serious Domestic Violence Offences

16 April 2024

Sam Willis prosecuted a defendant for a series of serious domestic violence... Read More

Containers filled with 270kg of cocaine, 2,500kg of cannabis and 18.6m cigarettes

15 December 2023

Charlotte Hole and Sam Willis prosecuted two importers for bringing into the... Read More

Conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration

27 November 2023

Ben Holt led Sam Willis in the prosecution of Caolan Gormley who was... Read More

28 years for man who killed sister-in-law with a hatchet

10 October 2023

Catherine Pattison and Sam Willis prosecuted this case of murder, which... Read More

Recent Cases


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