Jacques Howell

Full Profile

Jacques has over 15 years experience at the independent criminal bar and in a top tier firm specialising in providing advocacy services within the healthcare sector.

He has significant inquest experience, advising and representing a wide range of clients including NHS Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups, care homes and private organisations providing healthcare in a variety of settings, including within the prison estate.  His experience includes conducting complex inquests, often involving a large number of interested persons and those heard by a jury and where Article 2 is engaged.

Jacques also has extensive experience of representing individuals and organisations in the criminal courts.  He has appeared in many jury trials involving allegations of serious violence, large scale drug importation, serious sexual offences, and historic child abuse.  He has a special interest in large scale frauds, having been junior counsel for the prosecution in a 3 month trial concerning a $2.5 trillion US Treasury bond fraud, and instructed by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to a number of complex matters, including the prosecution of a number of traders accused of manipulating the LIBOR benchmark interest rate.

Experience

• Re: KM - acted for an NHS Trust in a 1 week inquest concerning complex cardiac care provided over a 4 month period.  The family were represented by Queen's Counsel
• Re: CB - acted for an NHS Trust in a 4 week inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice involving 7 interested persons.  This was the third inquest to he held, the conclusions of the previous inquests having been quashed
• Re: SH - acted for a private healthcare organisation who provided healthcare at a prison.  The two week hearing with a jury resulted in no criticism of our client, despite unfavourable expert evidence
• Re: AF - acted for the CCG to protect the interests of a living individual with severe dementia who was implicated in the deaths of 2 fellow residents at a care home, one of whom was his wife
• Re: Dr RG - acted for an insurer at an inquest concerning the overseas death of doctor involved in a road traffic accident.  The inquest considered the decision of the travel insurance porvider not to airlift the patient
• Re: Baby LC - acted for an NHS Trust in a complex neonatal death inquest which involved complicated and conflicting expert evidence
• Re: RJ - acted for an NHS Trust in a difficult jury inquest into the death of a young girl who had been detained under the Mental Health Act but managed to escape.  The Health & Safety Executive were also involved
• Acted for an NHS Trust in a 3 week jury inquest which examined the use of physical restraint by police and medical personnel of a young lady suffering with post-partum psychosis
• Acted for both the prosecution and defence in a number of criminal trials involving allegations of sexual assault or theft by care providers, including members of the medical profession
• Reg v. AA and 7 others - prosecution counsel prosecuting 8 defendants charged with money laundering and associated offences at the Central Criminal Court
• Appeared for the prosecution in a trial concerning the historic abuse of a child with learning disabilities by his parents.  The trial involved complex medical and forensic evidence and the use of an intermediary for the victim
• Appeared for one of the principal defendants in a 2 month trial concerning the alleged fraudulent evasion of VAT to the value of £1 million