Date of Call: 2005
Victoria Oakes was called to the Bar in 2005 after having worked for a solicitors’ firm in Manchester. She was taken on as a tenant at 5 Paper Buildings after completing her pupillage, and now defends and prosecutes across a range of criminal and quasi-criminal matters. She also has experience of representing full-participants in public inquiry work.
Victoria’s defence practice covers the breadth of criminal work encompassing cases of violence, indecency, drugs and dishonesty. She has particular experience in dealing with defendants suffering from mental health difficulties, both in circumstances where individuals are already subject to hospital orders or where the issue of fitness is raised for the first time in proceedings. Victoria has also represented a number of high profile individuals in private driving cases.
In her prosecution work Victoria represents a number of independent agencies and public bodies. She regularly conducts prosecutions on behalf of the Federation Against Copyright Theft (F.A.C.T) and Media Protection Services in relation to illegal broadcasting and criminal infringements of intellectual copyright. She is also frequently instructed by local Borough Councils in relation to regulatory and licensing work, in addition to being on the list of approved Crown Prosecutors.