Ravinder Saimbhi

  • Year of Call 2004
  • Year of Higher Rights 2004

Introduction

Introduction

Ravinder is a highly sought after junior in crime and has substantial experience in defending and prosecuting cases including rape and serious sexual allegations, drugs, and serious violence. An experienced trial advocate, she is fearless in advancing her client’s case and is an excellent cross-examiner, adopting the right tone in each individual case, time and again. She is not afraid to make legal arguments and takes every point in ensuring that every potential challenge is made and no avenue is left unexplored both in preparation and on her feet.

Ravinder is particularly experienced in dealing with vulnerable and child witnesses as well as defendants who suffer from poor mental health or other vulnerabilities. She has completed the Inns Vulnerable Witness Training and is recognised for her skill and care in cases involving s28 pre-recording of cross-examination.

Lay clients appreciate her dedicated and tenacious approach in court and her clear and honest advice. Ravinder masters her brief quickly and, with impressive soft skills both in and outside court, she is a popular choice of counsel, instilling confidence in both solicitors and individual clients alike that they are in safe hands.

Ravinder is a Grade 3 level Prosecutor.

Ravinder is Direct Access qualified and is available via her clerks to discuss potential instructions on a private basis.

Notable Cases

Notable Cases

Recent Cases :

2023 : R v BE – Isleworth CC – Represented a young man accused of kidnap and sexual assault which was wholly denied. Robust representation and active engagement in pursuing disclosure requests resulted in the Prosecution offering no evidence against him.

2023 : R v NS – Kingston CC – Represented a young man at re-trial on a single count of Rape following a Hung Jury at an earlier trial. The case concluded with a second jury unable to reach a conclusion and so a Not Guilty verdict was returned.

2023 : R v BP – Kingston CC – Represented a woman initially indicted with Blackmail set in the context of a complex family background. Active pursuit of disclosure and robust representations resulted in the prosecution accepting a plea to a count under the malicious communications act and the court imposing a low-level community sentence.

2023 : R v RP – Wood Green CC – Represented a young man at trial accused of Rape x2 and a series of sexual offences against a single complainant while still a teenager. A consent defence was advanced and in spite of robust prosecution, RP was acquitted of all counts in less than 2 hours following a 7-day trial.

2023 : R v JM – Isleworth CC – Represented a man on a trial of fact following a finding of unfitness to stand trial. The case concerned allegations of causing a child to observe sexual activity. The case was fought despite the client being absent throughout and resulted in the prosecution offering no evidence after closing their case when arguments were raised about the indicted counts.

2023 : R v RH – Hove CC – Represented a young man accused of Rape and sexual assault by 2 separate complainants and alleged to have taken place a year apart. The defences advanced included consent to one and a denial of the other. The jury was unable to reach verdicts on any count following a 10-day-long trial.

2023 :R v JM – Croydon CC – Led Junior in a case involving 15 defendants separated into 2 trials. The case concerned conspiracy to money launder involving a prolific and large scale removal of cash in excess of £43million between the UK and Dubai by an OGC over a significant time period. The prosecution included a vast and complex amount of evidence.

2023 : R v MZ – Basildon CC – Represented the alleged ring leader of a county line supplying class-A drugs across Essex and beyond. The case included 5 other defendants and resulted, through considered and careful analysis of the evidence, in the prosecution accepting a basis of plea which was far more favourable than had initially seemed possible.

2023 : R v HB – Isleworth CC – Represented a young man accused of PWITS class A at trial. The case was dismissed at halftime following successful submissions to exclude purported telephone evidence and careful and effective cross-examination of the prosecution's own drug expert witness resulting in the Judge accepting that there was no case to answer against either HB or his co-accused.

2023 : R v AB – Central CC – Represented an Islamic Tutor accused of sexual assaults against a student alleged to have taken place over a period of years in and around the family home during lessons. The case initially resulted in 2021 with a combination of Not Guilty verdicts and the jury being unable to reach verdicts on other counts. The retrial in 2023 resulted in the jury returning Not Guilty counts on all of the remaining counts in less than 2.5 hours.

2023 : R v WPW – Woolwich CC – Represented a young man accused of Rape in the context of a ‘stranger rape’ alleged by a young woman. His defence asserted a lack of any sexual activity and despite the late production of forensic evidence by the prosecution and CCTV evidence showing the parties together, the evidence was successfully challenged, resulting in a unanimous acquittal within 2 hours following a full trial.

Qualifications

Qualifications

LLB (Hons) Nottingham Trent University

LPC 1997 College of  Law

2004,  Higher Rights of Audience

2016 cross qualified at the Bar of England and Wales,  

Called to Bar of England and Wales,  Middle Temple

 

Memberships

Memberships

Middle Temple

Criminal Bar Association

South Eastern Circuit

Active member of WICL (Women in Criminal Law)

 

Testimonials

Testimonials

What others say about Ravinder:
“A joy to work with. Ravinder matches her excellent client care skills with tactical nous to be an obvious choice  in the most difficult of cases” Matthew Hardcastle, Associate, Kingsley Napley LLP

“I know my clients are in safe hands with Ravinder. She is bright, hardworking, enthusiastic, professional and achieves excellent results. She is great with clients and a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend Ravinder as an advocate.” Elena Papamichael, Trainee solicitor at Hodge, Jones and Allen solicitors

"I have had the pleasure of instructing Ravinder Saimbhi on a number of cases. Not only was she extremely professional and knowledgeable, as you would expect, she went far beyond the normal level of service. I have had great feedback from clients about her manner and warmth of understanding of their plight. I am always happy when I obtain her services and am sure that the client will have the best possible team in their defence." Peter Boyle, ILEX at GT Stewart Solicitors, Dartford

“Ravinder is a very hardworking and dedicated advocate.  She is always well prepared and her client care is excellent, approachable but also straight talking when needed.” Sophie Smith, Senior Supervisor and HCA! GT Stewart solicitors, Croydon

"I have worked with Ravinder on several cases of varying degrees of seriousness and am always impressed at the level of professionalism and care she puts into each one. Clients and family members alike have only ever returned positive feedback regarding Ravinder’s handling of the case and her tenacity in court, and she is always at the top of my list when it comes to instructing counsel." Kevin Williams, GT Stewart solicitors, Blackfriars

“Ravinder is appreciated by both lay clients and instructing solicitors, and for good reason – she’s very personable, works tirelessly and has a strategic legal mind. I would not hesitate to instruct her on my next big case.” Leigh Webber, solicitor and HCA, GT Stewart solicitors, Camberwell

"Excellent result, well done Ravinder. I’m sure the client was very happy" Jenna Chaplin, ABV solicitors 

Languages

Languages

Fluent Punjabi