It is three in the morning and the phone call comes from a custody suite: a friend or a son has been arrested after a night out in Brixton or Vauxhall and does not know what to do. The answer is the same whatever the allegation: ask for a solicitor, which is free at the police station regardless of income, and say nothing of substance until one arrives. Criminal law solicitors in Lambeth spend many nights in those interview rooms, and what is said or not said there decides whether a case ends with no further action, a caution or a charge.
Lambeth's criminal work reflects a dense, young, nocturnal borough: drugs and public order from the clubs of Vauxhall, Brixton and Clapham; drink and drug driving on the A23 and the South Circular; assaults, robbery and knife offences; domestic abuse allegations; fraud and benefit cases; and the long tail of motoring matters. HMP Brixton stands within the borough, and local solicitors visit clients there and at Belmarsh.
The courts are outside the boundary. Summary cases and first appearances are heard at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court in Southwark, and cases too serious for the magistrates are sent up to Inner London Crown Court, a short bus ride away at the Elephant, or occasionally to the Old Bailey or Southwark Crown Court. Lambeth solicitors are in those buildings every week, instruct barristers where needed and handle appeals.
Legal aid covers the majority of criminal work; it is means-tested for magistrates' court cases, Crown Court defendants may have to contribute, and the duty solicitor scheme covers the borough's police stations. Private clients should get an estimate per stage, with fixed fees common for motoring.
Lambeth's criminal defence firms are listed below, verified first. The guides to what criminal law involves and whether you can get legal help for free are worth reading, as is the general criminal law solicitors page; criminal law solicitors in Southwark appear in the same courts.
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