The firm is regularly asked to represent persons accused of committing offences in relation to animal rights protests and campaigns. Such offences can range from relatively minor public order cases tried in the Magistrates Court to serious criminal offences which can only be tried in the Crown Court and which attract very lengthy sentences. Tim Greene has been acting for animal rights demonstrators for many years and is one of the country's leading experts in this area of law.

In recent years the interest of the Government in those who actively object to the abuse of animals in research has increased significantly. In 2005 the Government created several new offences in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Such offences include harassment in relation to such protests, intimidation of persons connected to animal research organisations and interference with the contractual relationships of animal research organisations.

We have been involved in the first prosecutions under the new Act. We recently represent a woman accused of a conspiracy to interfere with the contractual relationships of Sequani (an animal research organisation) before the Birmingham Crown Court. Our client was acquitted following an 18 week trial. This case fell under the VHCC regime. She was represented at trial by two of our solicitor advocates, Tim Greene and Paul Morgan, while Steven Bird undertook the case preparation.

We currently act for a number of defendants in two linked trials in which the allegation is conspiracy to blackmail companies who trade with Huntingdon Life Sciences. The case is before the Winchester Crown Court and both cases fall under the VHCC regime.

We recently successfully defended a number of people accused of harassment involving protests outside fur shops in central London. This was the first prosecution under the new harassment provisions brought in by SOCPA 2005.

We are also representing a man accused of conspiracy to commit arson in relation to the campaign against the University of Oxford's new animal research facility. We are challenging Low Template DNA in this case which is to re-tried in early 2009 following a hung jury (and an acquittal on one charge) at the first trial.

Such prosecutions have political overtones and often involve large numbers of defendants which can make the trials lengthy and complex both in relation to the applicable law and the large amount of documentation produced by such lengthy police investigations.

The firm has acted and continues to for individuals allegedly connected to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty ("SHAC"), Stop Sequani Animal Testing ("SSAT"), SPEAK and Coaltion Against the Fur Trade ("CAFT").