Nicholas Mather

Year of Call: 1998

Specialist practice areas: Criminal/Civil Fraud, Serious Crime, Regulation/Compliance, Asset Forfeiture, Health & Safety, Police Disciplinary, Inquests & Public Inquiries.

Nick Mather has a practice which focuses on serious crime and the interface between civil and criminal law, with a particular focus on police investigatory powers, inquests, the proceeds of crime and regulation and compliance.

Serious Crime

Nick has considerable experience in all areas of serious crime as a junior and leading junior. His areas of focus include fraud and white collar crime, large-scale drugs offences, asset forfeiture and confiscation hearings, firearms, violent crime, kidnap, homicide, and public order offences. Nick defends and prosecutes in cases involving the RSPCA, DEFRA, RCPO, SOCA and the SFO as well as the CPS.

Nick specialises in fraud, most often involving substantial frauds committed against financial institutions in the UK and beyond, often with an "insider" element. He undertakes VHCC work.

Nick's highlights have included appearing in the first conviction for GBH by reckless infection with HIV, as well as cases arising out of Operation Manzana, involving child prostitution and the supply of drugs, and prosecutions resulting from Operation Aciento, which concerned the large-scale supply of class A drugs and firearms in West End nightclubs.

Nick led for the Crown in the case of R v Koka and others (Operation Gilberton) one of the largest immigration frauds to be prosecuted in the UK.
Nick has experience in managing substantial volumes of evidence and disclosure and led the prosecution team in cases arising out of the May Day Riots in Central London in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Inquests and Inquiries

Nick is experienced at representing interested persons at inquests in the Coroner's Court - whether families, insurers, companies or public authorities and is sensitive to the particular demands of such cases. He has a particular interest in cases which involve breaches of public duties or statutory requirements (for example deaths in custody, health and safety, police powers), whether involving the police or other public or quasi-public authorities. He frequently undertakes inquests in which Article 2 is engaged.

Recent instructions include the representation of the Gold Commander of the operation which led to the fatal shooting of Mark Saunders by the Metropolitan Police, deaths in prison custody and the representation of members of the emergency services.

Civil / Criminal Practice, Proceeds of Crime

Nick is regularly instructed in cases which involve a combination of civil and criminal law: advising and appearing at first instance and on appeal in courts as diverse as the Chancery and Family Divisions of the High Court, the Administrative Court as well as the Crown and Magistrates' Court.

Recent cases have involved civil freezing orders, the interaction between the Proceeds of Crime Act and the law of foreign jurisdictions, and interventions on behalf of the Crown in ancillary relief cases. Nick has a particular interest in cases involving the use or misuse of executive power, and particularly cases involving powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, Proceeds of Crime Act, Terrorism Act and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. Nick has conducted the majority of forfeiture hearings generated by Operation Rize.

A particular area of expertise is handling cases involving sensitive public interest immunity and complex third party disclosure issues, such as informant evidence, covert surveillance and the interception of communications (including information acquired by the SOCA, Special Branch, Social Services, the IPCC and other agencies). His flare for handling situations requiring both technical excellence and discretion has also given him a growing reputation for matters involving sensitive media or political issues, including those with "celebrities" or serving police officers as defendants.

Regulation and Compliance

Nick has a specialist gambling practice and advises and appears in cases involving a gambling element, particularly in relation to gaming and sports betting. Nick has been involved in the majority of recent criminal prosecutions involving gambling fraud, and also acts in relation to licensing and regulatory matters. He lectures regularly in this field.

Nick undertakes health and safety, consumer protection and medicines regulatory work, and is regularly instructed to advise in both contentious and non-contentious cases.

Film, Television and the Media

Nick is an experienced adviser to the media industry. He specialises in providing advice and support to film and television companies who are producing documentaries and dramas with a partial or substantial legal element. He has worked for independent production companies as well as both the BBC and ITV. He provides on-set advice to directors, cast and crew as and when required and is used to working within the confines of a tight production schedule. He provides pre-production advice to costume, art and design departments as well as script advice.

Recent work has included BAFTA award winning "Criminal Justice 2" for BBC1 (2009), "Silk" for BBC1 (2011) "The Jury 2" for ITV (to be broadcast Autumn 2011). He has recently finished work on a production for ITV1 which will be broadcast at peak viewing time on Christmas Day 2011.