Laura D’Alessandro

Called:	2019 (2022 Pupillage)
Qualifications:	LLB

Contact & Clerk

Email:
lauradalessandro@colletonchambers.co.uk

Clerk: Josh Warren
joshuawarren@colletonchambers.co.uk

Profile

Laura D’Alessandro has an exclusively criminal practice following completion of her specialist criminal pupillage at Colleton Chambers.  Laura has previous experience working in a fee earning role at various law firms in the South West representing clients.

Criminal Practice

Laura is a Grade 2 prosecutor for the CPS and prosecutes and defends parties in criminal proceedings in the Magistrates and Crown Courts across the Southwest. She frequently appears at a variety of hearings including breach proceedings, sentence and appeal hearings and trials.

Recent successes include:

• R v AB Secured an acquittal for a Defendant charged with Burglary with Intent to Cause GBH. This case was essentially a factual dispute. The Defendant accepted that he had assaulted the Victim but not that he had entered as a trespasser and assaulted him whilst he was asleep in bed. The jury rejected the Prosecution case and he was sentenced on ABH which he had pleaded to.
• R v DC Defending a client in a complex 3-day animal welfare case against specialist RSPCA counsel. The case required review of a high volume of material in short time. Whilst the client accepted some offences, an acquittal was achieved on one of the more serious ones. A suspended sentence and a finite animal disqualification order was achieved, rather than the life order sought by the RSPCA.
• R v SH Defending a 3-day youth sex trial. Experience in dealing with vulnerable witnesses including a neurodiverse client with comprehension and communication difficulties requiring a registered intermediary. Cross-examination of 3 child witnesses.
• R v JA Secured a suspended sentenced order for a young client charged with Causing Serious Injury by Dangerous Driving. In drink he had driven his friend’s car with him as passenger ultimately crashing the vehicle.
• R v JP Successfully defended a youth at a Newton Hearing concerning sexual offences. The judge found on the Defendant’s Basis of Plea in that the Complainant engaged in mutual sexual activity and no force or violence was used. The case had initially been charged under s.5 and 6 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and where detailed advice was required as to the legitimacy of charging a youth under what essentially constitute adult offences. It was established this is not wrong in law despite the preference to charge under s.13- specifically designed to deal with youth sexual offending (R v G [2009] 1 AC 92).
• R v JS Successfully prosecuted at trial in the Crown Court a charge of possession of a bladed article where lies was a matter in issue in that the Defendant had lied about his whereabouts at the material time. Whilst this didn’t prove that he did not have a reasonable excuse as to the possession of the bladed article it went to his credibility.
• R v RD Successfully prosecuted a trial in the Crown Court a Defendant charged with dwelling burglary. This was originally a 3 handed matter where the other Defendants had pleaded guilty. This Defendant denied any involvement and there were limited DNA findings. The case was advanced under Joint Enterprise doctrine and that the Defendant had assisted or encouraged in some way.
• R v PC Secured a suspended sentence order for a young client charged with dangerous driving and other driving offence. He had consumed excess alcohol and collided with an historic building causing extensive damage; he had no recollection of the event and fled the scene.

Laura appears for several national motoring solicitors where she is developing a very strong road traffic practice with regular repeat instructions. Successful arguments for Special Reasons and Exceptional Hardship and mitigating / defending failure to provide driver information and alcohol and drug driving offences.

Laura is also instructed in relation to breach of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Proceeds of Crime Act matters.

Call

2019 Gray’s Inn

Academic

Foundation Degree Law with Business
LLB First Class
BPTC Very Competent

Civil and Commercial mediator with ADR Group

Lord Justice Holker Award from Gray’s Inn

Memberships

Western Circuit

Interests

Gardening, interior decorating and dog-walking

BSB Register

The Bar Standards Board Barristers’ register (BSB register) shows the barristers who hold a current practising certificate and whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings. A link to the BSB register is here.