Profiles
Colin Reynolds
Senior Partner
Expertise in all aspects of criminal law, including fraud and extradition.
Colin has substantial experience in the representation of professional clients in many areas of crime, from white collar crime or general crime, to road traffic incidents. His expertise is particularly recognised in the area of advising and defending Police Officers in connection with misconduct (discipline) and criminal allegations.
Colin represented officers charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Waldorf in 1983, and since that time has been at the forefront of advising and assisting officers from the Metropolitan Police Service in all aspects of their police work, and particularly as and when operational duties result in criminal or disciplinary investigations, and proceedings.
Colin was the Partner who had the conduct of advising and representing a senior officer in the Stephen Lawrence Public Inquiry, and further, a senior officer in the Victoria Climbie Public Inquiry.
He also advised and represented an interested party in the Public Inquiry into the Marchioness/Bowbelle disaster on the Thames. He has subsequently lectured on advising interested parties in public inquiries at a seminar on that subject.
More recently, he advised and represented the Incident Commander in relation to the Sussex Shooting, this being a substantial criminal investigation leading to the prosecution of five police officers from Sussex in relation to the shooting of James Ashley. The officer represented by the Practice was acquitted, the Prosecution in due course offering no evidence prior to the commencement of the trial.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he advised and represented three Officers involved in the three most substantial Police corruption trials within that period. In two instances Officers in due course pleaded guilty (one being a resident informant) and in the other case the Officer was acquitted. Colin has substantial experience in representing both lay and professional clients at all levels in relation to a wide range of serious criminal offences. More recently, he has been involved in the representation of a senior banker charged with various offences of sexual abuse in relation to his wife and children, and a school teacher allegedly involved in inappropriate conduct with a junior female pupil. In both cases, following Crown Court trials, the clients were acquitted.
With this substantial experience, Colin also has personally represented by way of representation at misconduct hearings, a large number of police officers charged with various misconduct offences under the 2004 Police (Conduct) Regulations. He has been involved in a number of cases involving deaths and custody, whether it be in a custody suite or a death or serious injury “after contact with police” (including shootings) leading to an investigation by Professional Standards or a managed or supervised investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. That work has not been confined to the Metropolitan Police, but he has been involved in similar situations advising and assisting officers more recently in Hertfordshire and Cambridge Constabulary in relation to such matters.
He has been involved in representing officers in connection with substantial Inquests, including in 2004 the Inquest into the death of Roger Sylvester which led in due course to a successful Judicial Review on behalf of the eight officers for whom he acted, leading to the original verdict of the Jury of unlawful killing being quashed.
Since 22nd July 2005 Colin advised and assisted both Grey and Red surveillance teams from SO12 who were involved in the shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes at Stockwell Tube Station. That has been work which has involved taking approximately 14 officers through the investigative process, a decision there should be no criminal proceedings, then giving evidence at the Health and Safety trial against the Commissioner and thereafter then giving evidence at the lengthy Inquest which was concluded in December 2008. Colin maintained the conduct of this case throughout, advising a substantial number of officers through all these aspects of this matter up to the successful resolution of the Inquest so far as the surveillance officers were concerned.
Colin has lectured custody officers at seminars organised by the Directorate of Professional Standards as part of the learning and organisation command which they represent within the MPS. He has also spoken at the Roads Policing Conference, as a recognised authority in advising and representing police officers in connection with road traffic accidents both on and off duty.
This extensive experience extends also to other individuals facing allegations across the spectrum of alleged criminal conduct, dealing with corporate bodies and business facing forms of corporate allegation. For example, Colin was substantially involved in the BCCI bank collapse and the subsequent attempt to extradite the European Manager of the Bank to the United States between 1985 and 1990. More recently, he represented a firm of City Solicitors in relation to alleged breaches of the Statutory Pension Regulations. As a result of his representation in dealing with all types of criminal work, he is frequently called upon to act on a privately funded basis in a variety of cases, including acting on occasions for senior members of the Bar, senior police officers and those in the public eye.
Career and Membership
Qualified 1978
Trained with Victor J. Lissack and thereafter post qualification remained as an Assistant Solicitor and Partner with the firm.
1982, established Reynolds Dawson with Stephen Dawson.
1994, Stephen Dawson was appointed a District Judge (Stipendiary Magistrate).
Since 1994 Colin has remained the Senior Partner within the Practice, retaining his own case load and working with an energetic, committed and experienced team. The Practice since 1992 has been concerned solely with criminal law, and regulatory matters arising from that criminal work.
Colin was the author of the application to the then Serious Fraud Panel resulting in the firm being granted membership of the Panel which allows a limited number of solicitors to carry out very high cost work audited by the Very High Cost Cases Commissioner.
Membership
Law Society, IBA, LCCSA (President in 2000) BAFS, Justice, Howard League for Penal Reform, Liberty, Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers.