Hamish Fraser

Criminal Regulatory & Environmental

Hamish is developing an environmental, criminal regulatory, and health & safety practice. He has appeared as sole counsel in both the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court, for both the prosecution and defence. Recent examples of Hamish’s instructions are as follows:

• Environment Agency v South West Water Limited [2023]: a long-running Environment Agency prosecution of a water company concerning a series of alleged illegal water discharge activities and contraventions of environmental permits (led by Dominic Kay KC and Malcolm Galloway).
• MAIB Investigation [2023]: advising the coastguard in respect of an MAIB investigation into a death at sea.
• Thames Water v Bellway Homes Ltd [2023]: private prosecution against a large homebuilder in respect of the illegal installation and use of a water fitting at a housing development (successful at trial).
• R v J [2023]: defence of drug driving charges at trial where the defence was a challenge to the prosecution expert toxicology report.
• Reeves v Reeves & Curnock [2023] EWHC 73 (Ch): representing the claimant in these quasi-criminal contempt of court proceedings in relation to allegedly false statements made in previous proceedings. Useful guidance provided by the court on the test for permission to bring committal proceedings.

Selected Cases

Events

• Crown Office Chambers at The National Pupillage Fair 2024
• Crown Office Chambers Pupillage Open Evening

News

• Jason Evans-Tovey and Hamish Fraser successful in civil fraud claim in the Chancery Division
• Daniel Shapiro KC and Hamish Fraser act for the successful Defendant in a Commercial Court trial

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Articles

• Defending W&I claims: strategic themes illustrated in Finsbury Foods v Axis & Ors
• ClientEarth v Shell: High Court refuses permission for novel climate change action to be brought by ClientEarth against the directors of Shell Plc

Qualifications

• BPTC (Outstanding), BPP
• GDL (Distinction), City University
• English Language & Literature (First Class), University of Oxford,

Awards

• Buchanan Prize for outstanding performance on the BPTC (Lincoln’s Inn, 2020)
• Advocacy Scholarship (BPP, 2019)
• Tancred Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn, 2019)
• Winner, the Crowther Shield for public speaking (Lincoln’s Inn, 2019)
• Winner, the Crown Office Mooting Competition (2018)
• The Janet Quigley Prize for Middle English studies (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, 2016)