Michael Mansfield QC

Michael Mansfield QC – the UK’s leading defence barrister - is a highly sought-after, charismatic and captivating  after dinner speaker  and  keynote speaker .

One of the most venerated legal minds of our time, Michael Mansfield QC - the self-styled 'radical lawyer' - has represented defendants at criminal trials, appeals and inquiries in some of the most high profile controversial legal cases and miscarriages of justice the country has seen, particularly where issues of civil liberty have arisen.

Barry George, wrongly accused of killing TV presenter Jill Dando; the family of Stephen Lawrence; the families of victims at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry; the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, shot by the Metropolitan Police in 2005 and Mohammed Al Fayed in his pursuit of the truth surrounding the death of his son, Dodi, and Princess Diana in 1997. Michael also chaired an Inquiry into the "Shoot to Kill" policy in the North of Ireland at Cullyhanna.

In court, his willingness to push boundaries and a passionate fearlessness can intimidate some. However, possiblt as a result of the sheer dedication and fight for an individual's rights, Michael's list of former clients reads like a who's who of victims of institutional, political and leagl discrimination: Angela Cannings, the acquitted 'cot death' mother; Tahira Tabassum, acquitted widow of the first British suicide bomber in Israel; the Orgreave miners who were unjustly accused of riot during the miner's strike in 1984; the Birmingham Six, who were released in 1991, nearly sixteen years after being wrongly convicted; James Hanratty, hanged in 1962 for murder; 'spy' Michael Bettany; the Bradford 12 and the Newham 7 against the National Front; robbers in the Knightsbridge Heist; Iraqi dissidents fleeing Saddam Hussein; Palestinians charged with the Israeli Embassy bombing in London and Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain.

Away from the courts, Michael has presented a number of television documentaries and series, including "Presumed Guilty" for BBC1. He is a regular contributor to TV and radio current affairs programmes and was a panel member of The Moral Maze for many years. He has also written many articles for all the major broadsheets and law journals, a children's book 'The Whale Boy' and 'The Home Lawyer' - a legal handbook.

His unique career, blend of expertise and natural way with words mean he is a brilliant after-dinner entertainer and keynote speaker.