"Many of the matters in which he has been instructed have attracted local and national press interest".
Stuart McDonald
Solicitor Advocate
Stuart McDonald is a senior solicitor with over 30 years’ experience in criminal litigation. Having graduated with Honours from the University of Southampton in 1986, Stuart qualified initially as a barrister through the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in Easter 1988. He re-qualified as a solicitor and was admitted in July 1991.
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His first practice was with Jeffrey Gordon & Co in Lavender Hill, London SW11 between 1990 and 1992. He joined Hudson Freeman Berg in Marylebone in 1992 and left them in 2000, moving to Farrell Matthews and Weir in Hammersmith. He took up his current position with us in April 2002.
He has specialised in criminal defence work since 1992. Over that period he has been instructed in cases covering the full panoply of criminal litigation, ranging from minor road traffic matters to matters of homicide. He is a member of the London Criminal Courts’ Solicitors Association (‘LCCSA’), the Law Society and a member of the Defence Extradition Lawyers’ Forum (‘DELF’).’
Stuart has also been instructed in cases involving substantial offences of drug trafficking including one of the leading cases involving hidden assets in confiscation proceedings. Many of the matters in which he has been instructed have attracted local and national press interest. He can also claim to have appeared in the very first case to be heard at the new flagship Westminster Magistrates’ Court following its opening on 22 September 2011.
Away from the office, his interests include travel, a wide variety of sports, cinema, theatre and music.
Notable Cases
R v BS & BS
Defending a father and son who were accused of murdering a neighbour following a dispute about noise.
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Greece v BH
An extradition case where we successfully opposed a request from Greece in relation to a serious drug offence.
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R v SG
Charges arising out of an attempt to secure possession of a property and a money transfer involving £250,000 using falsified Court documentation with High Court Judges giving evidence for the Prosecution.
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R v MD
Successfully defending a man accused of a murder which had occurred 20 years earlier, after which it was alleged that the client had fled abroad.
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R v PG & others
Defending in a case involving the handling of stolen plant and machinery across the UK, one of the largest conspiracies of its kind.
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R v IMF & Others
Securing an acquittal on charges of kidnap, false imprisonment and wounding with intent to do GBH.
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R v (AA) & (BB)
Defending two 11-year-old boys with special needs who were accused of burgling a houseboat.
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CPS v AR
An unusual case where a disabled person was prosecuted for driving with excess alcohol relating to an electric mobility scooter. Stuart persuaded the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the charge with reference to Section 20, Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1974, a little-known piece of legislation.
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R v GB and PB
A murder prosecution where it was alleged that the two defendants had murdered their brother in a forerunner of the type of case known nowadays as an “honour killing”.
R v SH
A case involving the alleged use of “Rohypnol” to drug victims prior to offences of theft. Unusually in this case, the defendant was a woman.
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R v AH
One of the first cases involving the notion of “identity theft”, concerning an attempt to impersonate the owner of a house and to sell it without that person’s knowledge.
