A night out in Bath that goes wrong usually ends not in the city but at Keynsham, where Avon and Somerset Police have the custody centre that serves Bath and the surrounding towns. The first thing a criminal defence solicitor in Bath will tell you is to ask for one: advice at the police station is free regardless of income, the duty solicitor is available at any hour, and nothing said in an interview can be unsaid later. A local firm can be at Keynsham quickly and will know the officers and the Crown Prosecution Service lawyers who handle the case afterwards.
Cases then come back to Bath Magistrates' Court on North Parade Road, which deals with the great majority of offences from start to finish, or are sent to Bristol Crown Court for trial or sentence. The work is that of a prosperous tourist city with two universities: public order and assault around the bars and clubs, drink and drug driving on the A4, the A36 and the lanes to the villages, drug possession and supply among students and the people who sell to them, shoplifting and theft from visitors in the centre, domestic abuse, and the growing number of sexual offence and online allegations. Professional people facing a first offence, who stand to lose a registration or a job, are a regular part of a Bath solicitor's clientele and need advice about the consequences of a conviction as much as about the case itself.
Motoring is a specialism of its own. Speeding, totting-up, drink driving and careless driving fill the magistrates' lists, and an exceptional hardship argument that keeps a client's licence is often the most valuable thing a Bath solicitor does all week.
Legal aid is available, means-tested in the magistrates' court, through firms holding contracts in Bath and Bristol; private fees are quoted per stage, often fixed for motoring.
Criminal defence firms serving Bath appear below, verified firms first. Read what criminal law involves, the general criminal law solicitors page and can I get legal help for free, or widen the search to Bristol.
