Charlotte Hole

Practice Profile

Charlotte prosecutes and defends serious and organised crime, often with an international element, for which she has received commendations from Europol and the Metropolitan Police.  Charlotte was appointed Treasury Counsel Monitoree in April 2024.

She quickly earns the trust of vulnerable clients and scared or reluctant witnesses, as well as the confidence of instructing lawyers and police officers, including those from other jurisdictions, and has been praised by the National Crime Agency for her guidance offered to case teams, particularly those including less-experienced officers.

Charlotte has expertise in the management of complex disclosure across paper-heavy frauds and sensitive matters, and has delivered training to the CPS on “Prosecuting International and Organised Crime: Pitfalls and Protocols in Disclosure”.

Recently she has specialised in ‘romance’ frauds, involving the use of false identities on dating apps to target vulnerable victims, who are often reluctant to support a prosecution due to shame or embarrassment, and the laundering of significant sums of money in multiple countries.

Charlotte has a particular interest in cases involving complex scientific evidence, holding a Diploma in Forensic Medical Sciences.

Current instructions include: investigations by the Flying Squad and the NCA, and cases prosecuted by the CPS Complex Casework Unit, Homicide Unit, and Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID), as well as private instructions to defend in cases of sexual assault and stalking.

Charlotte's Privacy Policy can be downloaded here.

Memberships

• The Criminal Bar Association
• The South Eastern Circuit

Appointments

• Treasury Counsel Monitoree
• CPS Advocate Panel for General Crime at Grade 4
• CPS Specialist Panel - Fraud Level 3
• CPS Specialist Panel - Serious Crime Level 4
• Pupil Supervisor

Education

• Diploma in Forensic Medical Sciences (forensic medicine, forensic science, and the law as applicable to the forensic sciences), Worshipful Society of Apothecaries (2019).  Dissertation: “The medico-legal investigation of the death of persons deprived of their liberty by the state”.
• Bar Vocational Course, City University (2009); British Academy of Forensic Sciences Prize
• Graduate Diploma in Law (2007)
• BA Literae Humaniores, University of Oxford (2004, MA (Oxon) 2009)

News

There are no recent cases in this practice area.

Notable Cases

• R v. Akhtar [Southwark & C.O.A.] 2016, R v. Akhtar [2016] EWCA Crim 390 2016

  Appeal against a decision to stay proceedings

  Successfully defended a prosecution appeal against a decision to stay proceedings involving a vulnerable defendant where special measures were essential for a fair trial, but had not been put in place by the Court.