Bar Call/Inn
1991
Middle Temple 

Education
LLB (Hons) Lancaster

Areas of Practice
Crime
Commercial Fraud

1991
Middle Temple

William Baker has practised at the criminal bar for 16 years. He prosecutes and defends all serious crimes including murder, rape, serious fraud, the importation and supply of drugs.

The Chambers Client Guide to the UK Legal Profession has recommended him as a leader in his field since 2003. In 2007 it recommends him as able to hold his own with the best of them.

He is a Grade 4 prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service.

He regularly leads multi-disciplinary teams of counsel, lawyers, caseworkers, police officers, scientific experts, accountants and medical experts as a leading junior prosecuting large police operations with many defendants (see significant cases below).

He represents the junior bar and the Northern Circuit on the Bar Council's Carter Response Group and One Case one Fee Group consulting and responding to the changes in funding and practise being proposed by the government.

For the past 10 years he has lectured on the Greater Manchester Police National Fraud Course on the presentation of fraud in the Crown Court.

He has recovered assets of over £2 million prosecuting confiscation hearings arising from drug, fraud and theft cases working with the Financial Investigation Unit and CPS Headquarters (see significant cases).

As a pupil supervisor he has trained a criminal advocate in advocacy, court etiquette, drafting documents for court and ethics.

He is computer literate preferring to communicate where possible by e-mail.

Recent Prosecution Cases

In 2007 he was leading prosecution counsel in Operation Tobago. Seventeen defendants charged with conspiring to supply heroin with an estimated value of £7 million over a period of 16 months.

In 2007 he was leading prosecution counsel in Operation Barton. Five defendants charged with conspiring to import and supply heroin valued at about £1.2 million.

In 2007 he prosecuted Operation Crayfish. Twenty one defendants charged with conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine to under cover police officers over a period of 5 months.

From 2005 to 2007 he prosecuted Operation Kite. A conspiracy to handle £0.5 million of stolen cars. A confiscation order of £200,000 was obtained.

In 2006 he prosecuted a rape to conviction that other counsel had advised be discontinued.

In 2005 and 2006 he was leading prosecution counsel prosecuting a cutting edge debit and credit card fraud that the banking industry were concerned could undermine their security. It was one of the first times debit and credit card details had been intercepted from a cash till by a telephone tap and decoded using a computer program.

In 2002 he prosecuted the Burnley riots.

Recent Defence Cases

In 2006 he defended offences of Rape, Robbery, Arson with Intent to Endanger Life, Causing Grievous Bodily Harm With Intent, Supplying Controlled Drugs of Class A.

In 2004 he was junior counsel defending the Financial Director of a limited company in the Serious Fraud Office prosecution arising from the collapse of the Power Screen group of companies. The prosecution alleged that my client was guilty of a share flotation fraud and covering up a multi million pound black hole in the groups accounts by false accounting devices and issuing false invoices worth millions of pounds. The case against his client was dismissed on the basis of a skeleton argument he drafted.

In 2003 he was junior counsel defending the managing director a travel company charged with fraud after the company went into liquidation.