She is enormously talented, great to work with, down to earth and pragmatic. She has a backbone of steel Chambers UK 2016
Kate Bex is cited in both the Legal 500 and Chambers UK. She is a highly regarded criminal advocate who both defends and prosecutes. Kate specialises in business crime and corruption as well as murder, sexual offences, firearm offences and large scale organised crime. Kate also represents the interests of those concerned in Inquests and Courts Martial. Kate was a Steering Committee Member of the Private Prosecutors’ Association who contributed to the drafting of the Code for Private Prosecutors.
Kate accepts Direct Access instructions.
She is a committed, tenacious advocate who will leave no stone unturned to win a case. Unflappable and tactically astute, she can cope with anything Chambers UK 2021
Has an extremely good memory and can get to grips with large volumes of material Chambers UK 2021
Kate is a barrister who wakes up the court. Utterly fearless she will take on judge, co-defender, prosecutor, witness without a tremor. Her case preparation is phenomenal and she believes in exploring all the evidence. Fiercely protective of her client, solicitor and junior she is nevertheless a brave and shrewd tactician Legal 500 2021 Crime
She is relentless and uncompromising on the right cases Chambers UK 2020
She is very good. She has an attractively direct style. She is very business-like and pragmatic Chambers UK 2018
You can have confidence in her judgement. She has an innate ability to laser through the issues and get to the heart of a case Chambers UK 2018
Kate has many years experience as a fraud practitioner: she defended in the London City Bond litigation and in the race-fixing trial at the Old Bailey and the subsequent regulatory proceedings before the British Horseracing Authority which concluded with the first Goodyear indication outside a criminal court.
She has also successfully appeared for the defence in the Court of Appeal (R v Moulden [2008] EWCA 2561) for a client charged with money laundering on a point of law concerning confiscation under both the CJA 1988 and POCA 2003 which saved her client approximately £500k.
Kate is a highly regarded advocate who defends and prosecutes in equal measure, specialising in homicide and large scale organised crime. She has experience of dealing with novel areas of law; she prosecuted an importation and supply of firearms by rival south London gangs involving a new weapon not seen by forensic scientists before which required expert evidence on the interpretation of s.5 Firearms Act to set a precedent for future cases. Kate prosecuted the first FGM trial and successfully defended in the second. She prosecuted the first case of County Lines using Human Trafficking law, which went to the Court of Appeal twice.
Kate has been involved in cases requiring considerable sensitivity; defending a mother in the tragic killing of both of her children whilst suffering from an undiagnosed serious mental illness and defending a man accused of sexually assaulting eight women including children in a campaign lasting fifteen years.
Before taking silk Kate regularly appeared at the General Medical Council, General Dental Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, Nursing & Midwifery Council and National College for Teaching and Leadership for many years. Kate has also been sitting as a Legal Assessor at the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service since 2000.
Kate has appeared before the High Court for Judicial Review and in the County Court for the first appeals from a decision of the GMC’s Registration Appeals Panel.
She also defends healthcare and other professionals who face criminal proceedings arising out of their work, as well as those in other industries such as a racehorse trainer who faced proceedings brought by the BHA.
Kate has also been instructed by the General Pharmaceutical Council as independent counsel to cross examine the complainant in a rape case where the registrant was unrepresented and therefore precluded from cross examining her himself.
She has been instructed by the medical defence organisations in a number of inquests where she has represented doctors and successfully avoided criticism in the coroner’s report.
Kate represented a soldier at risk of being discharged from the Army at his Courts Martial and successfully persuaded the Board to allow him to retain his rank.
Reported cases;
BA (Hons) Law and English Literature
Criminal Bar Association
Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers
The Private Prosecutors’ Association
Health & Safety Lawyers’ Association
Fraud Lawyers Association
Liberty
South Eastern Circuit
Recorder of the Crown Court (2017)
Legal Assessor at the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service (2000)
Accredited Mediator for Civil / Commercial Disputes (2007)
CPS Rape Panel (2005-2017)
CPS HQ Specialist Fraud Panel (2013-2017)
CPS HQ Serious Crime Panel (2013-2017)