Aaron is a successful junior practitioner in the fields of criminal law, fraud, extradition, public law and human rights.
Crime and Regulatory Law
The focus of Aaron’s criminal work is serious and financial crime acting for both prosecution and defence. He appears frequently in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal as well as in proceedings before the Administrative Court arising out of crime.
Aaron is on the SFO’s list of approved counsel and is currently developing his financial crime practice by working as seconded counsel on the FSA’s largest ever insider-dealing prosecution. Aaron also has considerable experience of the different confiscation regimes from pre-charge through to post-confiscation order enforcement following a six-month secondment at RCPO’s Asset Forfeiture Division. He has appeared in the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court and High Court (Family Division) in connection with complicated cases in this area of law.
Beyond financial crime Aaron has substantial experience prosecuting and defending general criminal cases in the Crown Court and in the Court of Appeal. In 2009 he was instructed for the defence in the first prosecution of the offence of ‘possession of extreme pornography’ and successfully secured the quashing of all counts before the Court of Appeal.
Extradition
Aaron is a specialist extradition practitioner, regularly advising and appearing on behalf of requesting states and defendants in complex and highly contentious extradition proceedings. He has expertise in both Part 1 (European Arrest Warrant) and Part 2 cases, and in import and export extradition.
Aaron regularly appears at first instance and in the High Court in the context of contested statutory appeals, judicial reviews and habeas corpus applications and is experienced in arguing all issues raised under the Extradition Act 2003, in particular human rights.
Aaron is currently instructed in a number of high-profile, sensitive cases acting for the Government of the United States of America, The Russian Federation, India, Italy and Sweden. Recent cases he has acted in include extradition requests for defendants sought for offences of large-scale fraud, money laundering, murder, terrorism, serious sexual assaults including paedophile sex abuse and drugs conspiracies.
Public Law and Human Rights
Aaron regularly acts in judicial review proceedings in the substantive areas of his practice. Because of his extensive civil law experience, Aaron is also frequently instructed in criminal/civil cross over cases. Aaron was also recently been instructed by the Treasury Solicitor’s Department in a large combined personal injury and judicial review action brought by an Iraqi national alleging mistreatment whilst in the custody of the British army. Aaron has also appeared in some of the leading human rights cases in the context of extradition law, most recently the compatibility of US sentencing policies, particularly mandatory life without parole, and civil commitment, with the ECHR.