Allison Hunter
Year of Call: 1986
Specialist practice areas: Serious Crime, Criminal/Civil Fraud, Serious Sexual Offences
Email: ahunter@furnivallaw.co.uk
Allison Hunter has developed an exclusively criminal practice with extensive experience in both prosecuting and defending the most serious and high-profile cases. These include murder, firearms offences, drugs, serious fraud (front end fee, VAT, mortgage, and MTIC), money laundering, and serious sexual offences. In recent years she has developed particular expertise in leading large, multi-handed prosecutions of major organised crime networks, and she has extensive experience of working with the new provisions under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.
In the field of serious sexual
offences, Allison has prosecuted and defended cases involving: historical
allegations of rape and indecency, including offences committed against
children in care; cases containing multiple and violent allegations of rape;
allegations of child abduction and of incest. She has experience of cross
examining extremely vulnerable adults and children, live and over video link,
and conducting complex legal argument concerning the admissibility of
questioning complainants about their previous sexual history, the admissibility
of similar fact evidence, including previous acquittals, and more recently the
Bad Character provisions under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
In addition to prosecuting for the CPS, Allison has prosecuted for The
Department of Work and Pensions, HM Revenue & Customs and The Medicines
Agency (MHRA). She led the first prosecution for the importation of Ketamine
into UK
and was invited to assist the panel who successfully negotiated with the Home
Office for the inclusion of Ketamine in the schedules to the Misuse of Drugs
Act.
Independent research conducted for the 2005 edition of the Legal 500
recommended Allison for her “refreshing attitude”. She has taught in-house
advocacy in chambers, lectured forensic accountants upon the presentation of
evidence, and gives regular lectures to the Metropolitan Police Service on Bad
Character, Disclosure and Hearsay.