With a career as a Registered General Nurse at a London teaching hospital before coming to the Bar, Vanessa’s practice now has a particular focus on any case involving medical issues.
Her practice straddles both the civil and criminal jurisdictions, offering not only the discipline and detail that civil paperwork brings, but also the skills and experience gained as a criminal advocate. In short, Vanessa is equally strong on paper and in court and will not be "court shy" when it comes to fighting a civil case to trial. In the last 5 years she has not only been recognised in The Legal 500 as an up and coming junior in the field of clinical negligence but is currently ranked as a leading junior for crime by Chambers & Partners.
A good example of Vanessa's "dual practice" is that during 2008/9, she represented a dentist at the General Dental Council, as well as defending him in the Queen's Bench Division in related proceedings alleging civil fraud. Between June and December 2009 she was Counsel to the Airedale Inquiry in Skipton, Yorkshire: an Inquiry into the management and practices of Night Nurse Practitioners (NNPs) at Airedale NHS Trust during 2000-2002, concerning nurse prescribing and IV administration of opiates, following a stayed murder prosecution against a senior NNP. This covered both civil and criminal aspects of the common law.
Reported cases
- R v Leicester Crown Court ex parte Pravin Govind Patel (2000) LTL 15/2/2000
- Carol Breeze (as Personal Representative of the Estate of Leonard Breeze, deceased) v Saheed Ahmed [2005] EWCA 223
- R v Michael Edwin Reynolds & 7 Ors [2007] EWCA Crim 538; (2007) 2 Cr App R (S) 87
- The Airedale Independent Inquiry Report 8 June 2010: http://www.yorksandhumber.nhs.uk/document.php?o=4983
Contact Vanessa Marshall
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7242 3555
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7242 2511
Email: clerks@7br.co.uk