Criminal Defence

Matthew is the most diligent, organised and proactive individual I have ever met. He maintains a highly supportive nature whilst also giving strong legal advice. He helped me through my legal situation and helped to ensure the strongest possible outcome whilst I was experiencing significant mental strain. He is quick to relay updates and ensures that everything is explained simply for those, like myself, with a lack of legal knowledge so that it can be clearly understood. I would highly recommend Matthew to anyone without hesitation.

From the outset, Joanne approached everything with a calm, professional manner that immediately put me at ease. She managed the difficult balance of being fully transparent about the possible outcomes - without ever overwhelming or alarming me - while ensuring I always had clear, accurate information. This was, without question, one of the most stressful periods of my life, and Joanne was a steady point of clarity and reassurance throughout. She held the situation with real professionalism and grace. I would not hesitate to recommend her highly.

I am very grateful to Joanne Henderson for offering me invaluable advice and guidance and for preparing an excellent carefully considered statement of mitigation for submission to the Court.

I was extremely worried about my impending court case for drink-driving and wanted to find a solicitor in Norwich who understood neurological conditions, as I have ADHD. Thankfully, Howard was recommended to me by a good friend. From my very first correspondence with Howard, I felt a sense of relief that he had the experience I needed, and am now very grateful that this was a correct assumption. His level of commitment to my case to fully understand my circumstances was excellent, as was his advice. Howard's explanation of my circumstances to the magistrates on the court day helped for them to better understand what was going on 'behind the scenes'. I could not have wished for better representation, or a better result.

Howard, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you, and the barristers involved, for all your hard work in fighting my son’s case and ensuring he was exonerated from all criminal charges.

Matthew Swash initially took charge of my legal case in a sympathetic manner, and he professionally explained the process and costs ahead. After several weeks with ‘tooing and froing’ with the CPS they finally agreed with Matthew Swash and ourselves that there was effectively no case to answer which was eventually dropped at the last minute. Matthew Swash kept us fully informed with all developments along the way so that we knew exactly where we stood with the process. We couldn’t have succeeded without Matthew’s skill and expertise and we cannot thank him enough for his excellent service! Legal Assistant Diane Bartsch ably supported the process throughout.

I am happy with the outcome and more than happy with your dealing of the matter. I found your manner and attitude absolutely as I would have liked it to be. I do not have any criticisms at all. Thank you for all your energy and attention to our case.

Matthew's dealing with my speeding situation was excellent. He maintained great communication and made sure that we were prepared for every eventuality. The result was better than expected and very much a surprise, which gave me huge relief and has had a huge impact on my life. The service and professionalism that Matthew and Diane provided was excellent.

I am really pleased with this outcome and hopefully now breathe a sigh of relief and continue with life as normal with my family from now on. I have always regarded Leathes Prior to be one of the best solicitors in Norwich and was very pleased with the service received.

Please accept my thanks for the excellent legal service you have provided. I've long suspected that I was extremely fortunate to discover your practice here in Norwich and events of the last few weeks have only served to confirm that impression.

I would like to thank Howard Catherall for his support during my son’s court case. Howard worked with the utmost integrity when offering guidance on the submissions to court. Howard ensured we both fully understood the process throughout and helped to take the pressure off our worries knowing that the case was being handled by a competent professional. Finally, Howard’s experience and knowledge helped bring the case to a satisfactory conclusion within the court arena.

Matthew Swash was put forward to me by a family friend after I needed some advice and representation over a legal matter. I had an initial meeting with Matthew to discuss the situation I found myself in, and he offered his skills and expertise on how to deal with this matter. He kept me informed along the way through form of email and phone, and also worked out of hours to ensure important information was dealt with. Thankfully, the case didn't get too far, and I would like to say because of Matthew's efforts. I would highly recommend him to anyone requiring a professional service.

Since employing the services of Leathes Prior some 15 years ago to handle the MBO on mine and my colleagues behalf the service provided has been second to none. Whether it be advice regarding employment law, commercial & corporate matters on every occasion the professionalism has been exemplary as well as being very approachable and with a ‘never too much trouble’ attitude. So impressed were we that I and my wife use them to handle our personal matters. I would without any hesitation whatsoever recommend Leathes Prior’

I know it cost a few quid, but I’m chuffed beyond words with the result!

I wanted to thank you for your dedication to my case and your excellent presentation to the magistrates on my behalf. Without your services I would not be driving today. I thought the way you approached the challenge of achieving a successful outcome for me was a masterpiece of strategy, planning and delivery. It was so interesting to watch you take the magistrates eloquently 'by the hand' through the maze of events and diverse facts that constituted my defence. Every "dot and t" was crossed with no stone left unturned. Your diligence, creativity and thorough investigations were exemplary and left no quarter for ambiguity at any stage of the proceedings. Furthermore the defence bundles that you prepared were also a masterclass in both presentation and logical progression, and presented a daunting collection of hard evidence and background information to the magistrates which helped my defence significantly and shaped their response in a sympathetic and positive way. If there was a prize for the most accomplished defence of a client in a driving conviction case, you would certainly win it! Thanks to Leathes Prior for being so accommodating.

Just want to say thank you for all your hard work and you made it so much easier having you to represent us as we wouldn’t have got the same result without you. I would recommend you to anyone who need your services and I would certainly use you if I did need a solicitor.

In what was a very stressful situation for me personally, I was very appreciative of the way in which you knitted the strands of my defence together to establish the proper picture of what actually occurred. Delighted to find that my case was then dismissed by the Magistrates, which I attribute solely to your attention to detail, commitment and advocacy skills. I am very grateful for your help and support.

Outstanding, we were in very good hands from the first contact with Leathes Prior Solicitors. I know we wouldn't have had the outcome without Diane and Joanne. A lot of hard work went into the case. Joanne knew exactly who to contact for my son's Barrister.

Howard, we would like to thank you for guiding us through a very challenging and emotional time. We were very much out of our depth and appreciated your advice and guidance and much-needed support and expertise. It was a huge relief to have matters brought to a swift and successful conclusion.