Natalie Bird

Natalie has developed a strong defence practice in the Crown Court, Youth Court, and Magistrates’ Court, including trial advocacy, sentences, and confiscation proceedings. She is regularly instructed by specialist road traffic firms to defend high profile and high net worth individuals.

In late 2018 she was led by Bill Clegg QC in a two-week trial regarding domestic violence and controlling and coercive behaviour, resulting in the client being acquitted of all charges.

Prior to commencing pupillage at 2 Bedford Row, Natalie was employed by Norton Rose Fulbright as a paralegal within the fraud and economic crime team. In this role, she defended cases prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office, the Health and Safety Executive, and the Department of Justice involving allegations of bribery and corruption, fraud by false accounting, and corporate manslaughter. Now a barrister at 2 Bedford Row, Natalie has been instructed to defend in cases relating to fraud, dishonesty, and tax offences.

Notable defence cases

R v C (2020)

Sexual assault charges dropped against client following successful representations to the CPS.

R v N (2020)

Client charged with wounding with intent released on bail after successfully opposing the Crown’s application to extend the Custody Time Limits.

R v L (2019)

High-profile client sentenced to a suspended sentence for dangerous driving involving the flipping of a car.

R v W (2019)

Military veteran client given a conditional discharge having admitted purchasing a disguised firearm.

R v R (2019)

Client was acquitted by the jury of robbery despite the complainant claiming to have recognised her, and despite the stolen bag containing fingerprints belonging to R and R’s partner.

R v R (2019)

Client was acquitted by the jury of the most serious of three counts of theft despite the jury seeing text messages purportedly from the client explicitly contradicting his defence.

R v S (2018)

Led by Bill Clegg QC in a two-week trial regarding domestic violence and controlling and coercive behaviour, resulting in the client being acquitted of all charges.

R v T (2018)

Acquittal of a man accused of domestic violence following a successful application to adduce the complainant’s bad character (not relating to a conviction). The client’s c.£4,000 worth of outstanding Court fines were then written off due to the time he had spent in custody.

R v J (2017)

Persuaded the Magistrates to find exceptional hardship, saving J from a 6-month totting ban which would have terminated his employment as a Class 1 HGV driver and forced him to sell his family’s home.

R v H (2017)

Following legal argument about disclosure failings, the Prosecution were compelled to drop an allegation of assault against a 50-year-old man with no previous convictions.

R v B (2017)

Acquittal of an ex-police officer accused of a public order offence involving threats of violence against a ticket operator at a train station, despite CCTV footage and the independent eye-witness account of a university professor.

N v H (2017)

Claimant was persuaded to drop their County Court application to commit H to prison for breaching an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction, on the basis of a written skeleton argument applying to strike out their case.