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Criminal defence and Crown Court
Trials, plea and case management hearings, sentencing and appeals — including Arabic transcript and covert recording review.
In the courtroom
A defendant following cross-examination through whispered interpretation from the dock is not having the same trial as everyone else in the room. Chuchotage is physically limited: one interpreter, no equipment, a glass dock, counsel at natural pace.
What helps is telling the court in advance that the defendant requires simultaneous interpretation and asking for it to be minuted; agreeing breaks at fixed intervals rather than when the interpreter flags fatigue; and providing the indictment, the agreed facts and key exhibit translations beforehand. None of that is a courtesy to the interpreter — it is a record that the defendant was able to follow proceedings.
Arabic transcript and recording review
Where the Crown's case rests on interpreted or transcribed Arabic material, that material is evidence and can be examined. Covert recordings routinely involve poor audio, overlapping speakers and regional dialect, with a transcript produced by someone who may not share the speaker's variety.
I have reviewed Arabic transcripts in which a hedged conditional had been rendered as a flat assertion, and in which a regional idiom was translated at face value into something considerably more incriminating. Review is charged at £100 per hour of time spent, with a written estimate agreed before work begins.
Clearances
CTC (Counter Terrorist Check) clearance valid to September 2030 and a current Enhanced DBS certificate, suitable for custody, prison and court work.
Instructing me for this work
£50 per hour remote, one-hour minimum. Remote only — in-person enquiries are referred to an NRPSI-registered colleague. All dialects excluding North African (Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian), all settings. A free 30-minute pre-instruction consultation is available to confirm the client's dialect and plan logistics.
Legal aid instructions
Legally aided work is charged at the LAA-prescribed rate: currently £28 per hour for civil work (including family) and £32 per hour for criminal work, non-London. One-hour minimum for conferences. Itemised invoices and attendance notes, including any waiting time, are provided as standard so the claim can be assessed. Where prior authority is needed to exceed the prescribed rate, I will provide a short note confirming the dialect requirement and my registration. Private and direct instructions are quoted at the rates above.
Dialect coverage
Booking an Arabic interpreter? Hear back the same working day.
Send me the dialect, the setting and the date. I reply the same working day with availability and the rate. Remote UK-wide, no agency margin.
Prefer email? Send a ready-made booking brief or write to [email protected]