Greater Manchester Police make tens of thousands of arrests a year, and every one of those people has the same right: free, independent legal advice at the police station, day or night, whatever their means. Many waive it, thinking it looks guilty. It does not, and the duty solicitor or your own criminal solicitor can change the course of a case before it has properly begun.
After the police station, cases in Manchester follow a well-worn path. Most start at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court at Crown Square, where guilty pleas to minor offences are dealt with in minutes and more serious matters are sent to the Crown Court. Manchester has two: Manchester Crown Court at Crown Square and Minshull Street Crown Court near Piccadilly. A criminal law solicitor in Manchester represents clients at each stage, obtains and tests the prosecution evidence, instructs a barrister for trial where needed, and prepares mitigation for sentence.
The caseload reflects the city: drug supply and county lines prosecutions, violence and public order around the night-time economy, football-related offences and banning orders on match days, domestic abuse allegations, driving offences from the M60 and the city's speed cameras, and increasingly online fraud and sexual offences. Several Manchester firms also specialise in serious fraud, regulatory and professional disciplinary cases.
Legal aid remains available for most criminal cases, means-tested in the magistrates' court and with contributions in the Crown Court. Privately funded clients should ask for a written estimate for each stage; fixed fees for motoring matters are common.
The solicitors below offer criminal defence services within 20 miles of Manchester city centre, verified firms first. See our guide to criminal law, how criminal solicitors work and free legal help.
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