David Mclachlan KC is very highly regarded in the field of serious crime. He specialises is the most complex criminal cases and regularly appears in matters that are of significant public interest.

Called to the bar in 1996 and appointed at Kings Counsel in 2017, David has dealt with a very wide range of criminal offences and has particular expertise in all forms of homicide, crimes relating to organised crime and gang culture, drug trafficking and fraud.

Over the last two decades David has been instructed in cases of national public interest. These have included the tragic Olivia Pratt-Korbel murder and the Rikki Berry murder.

David approaches every case with the absolute high standards of preparation, he will limit the volume of work accepted to ensure that the cases he accepts receive the very highest levels of commitment and service. His practice is split between prosecution and defence instructions and he works extremely closely with the legal teams involved to ensure these difficult and sensitive cases are prepared to their fullest potential.

In addition to his advocacy work, David has also been instructed on several significant operations as Independent Counsel to consider matters relating to Legal Professional Privilege.

In addition to his career at the bar, David is extremely active in teaching. He was appointed as Professor of Criminal Legal Practice at Manchester Metropolitan University in July 2023 where he teaches Post Graduate Bar Training Course students in Criminal Litigation and Evidence, Conference Skills and Advocacy Skills. David interacts with the Bar Council in relation to the continuing education of students and has assisted the Northern Circuit with the New Practitioner’s programme and is an advocacy trainer to pupils and junior barristers on circuit. He has lectured abroad on topics related to training as a barrister (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2024 – 2026).

David was elected as a Bencher of The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in 2025.

Notable Cases:

Murder & Manslaughter

R v BA – Prosecuting a man charged with murder of his friend. Resolved by means of a plea to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility

R v KR – Defending a woman charged with the murder of her partner. She was found not guilty by the jury of all charges including manslaughter

R v DG – Defending a young man charged with manslaughter on the basis of joint enterprise. He was the only defendant to be acquitted

R v MM – Prosecuting a man for the murder by strangulation of his partner

R v SM – Defending a man for murder for stabbing an associate to death

R v PD – Defending a man for the murder by stabbing of a neighbour

R v X – Defending a man charged with the murder of a stranger during which the stranger was stabbed over 50 times.There were 2 defences to run: alibi and diminished responsibility. The defendant was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

R v JP and CP – Prosecuting a father and daughter for the gross negligence manslaughter of their mother who was left to die in bed

R v AB – Defending a man charged with murder who slit the throat of his ex-partner’s new partner in broad daylight in a shop https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-43699004

R v MJ – Defending defendant charged with murder on the basis of joint enterprise. Acquitted by the jury of murder and manslaughter

R v AW – Defending man charged with murder which involved extreme levels of torture

R v AM – Prosecuting man charged with murder which involved extreme levels of torture including extraction of teeth

R v RE and KP – Prosecuting 2 men for murder by stabbing after Liverpool had won the Champions League in Madrid https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/liverpool-stabbing-death-two-men-arrest-murder-george-dala-lloyd-evans-a8946366.html

R v RW – Defending man charged with the gross negligence manslaughter of his wife

R v LA – Prosecuting a man charged with the murder of a pub landlord which involved significant psychiatric issues. Convicted of murder https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-51576386

R v RMP – Prosecuting a youth for a stranger murder. This case involved significant disclosure issues

R v BH – Prosecuting a man for murder who met up with another young male and stabbed him over 120 times

R v DS – Prosecuting a man for murder which involved an intricate and complex amount of circumstantial evidence. Convicted of murder

R v AG – Prosecuting a man for murder of his cousin which involved significant psychiatric issues

R v DM – Prosecuting man for intricate murder which would have enriched him via multiple insurance policies

R v SK and RS – Prosecuting a man and his wife for murder and perverting the course of justice respectively in relation to the killing of a Doctor and her 14 year old daughter. Both convicted https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-9255131/Wife-man-arrested-murder-doctor-daughter-charged-perverting-course-justice.html

R v JL – Prosecuting a man for killing his baby. Convicted of murder

R v KA – Prosecuting a man for killing his wife by battering her to death. Convicted of murder

R v TB – Prosecuting a man for murder by stabbing an associate to death

R v TD – Prosecuting a man for the murder of his step grandmother by setting fire to her house https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-59236087

R v SN and DN – Prosecuting man and woman for causing and / or allowing the death of their baby daughter. Both convicted (R v SN and DN

R v MA – Prosecuting a man for killing his wife. Convicted of murder. Involved detailed consideration of loss of control

R v LC – Defending a woman on charge of the murder of her baby

R v LT – Prosecuting a man for killing both of his parents. He stabbed both of them in excess of 100 times each. There were difficult psychiatric issues to consider. He was convicted of murder https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-62307944

R v AS & others – Prosecuting 2 men for their part in the murder of Aya Hachem. This case attracted international and national media interest https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-65116136, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-58087826

R v AB – Prosecuting a man for killing his ex partner and then burying her in a forest. This case attracted national media interest. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/murder-victims-family-relive-haunting-25546065https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-63658721

R v TC – Prosecuting a man for killing a 9 year old girl in her own home (R v TC). The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 42 years imprisonment. This case attracted international and national media coverage. The sentencing remarks of the Judge (Mrs Justice Yip) were televised. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-65088182

Gang Related Crime

R v LM – Prosecuting 7 defendants for a gang related murder in Manchester.All convicted of murder and 3 counts of section 18 wounding (28 counts in total).

R v SJ – Defending main defendant charged with murder in relation to a dispute between gangs

Operation Poppy – Prosecuting as Junior Counsel the Croxteth Crew in relation to a campaign of violence and drug dealing which involved 38 separate incidents. I devised the documentation that went before the jury https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/little-boy-blue-croxteth-crew-12941815 , https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-21937681

R v PC and others, R v PW – Prosecution Junior Counsel in a series of cases concerning an infamous gangland execution in the Liverpool suburbs. I was responsible for producing and devising all of the material that went before the jury

R v ARB and others – Prosecution of 5 defendants for a gang related murder in Manchester

Drug Offences

Operation Poppy 2 – Prosecuting alone a spin off from Operation Poppy which involved a high-level MMA fighter https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/matrix-boss-warns-no-criminal-4327295

R v JS and others – Prosecuting numerous paper heavy drugs cases alone. Two of which included 15 defendants. They were all convicted

R v SC and others – Prosecution Junior Counsel in a series of cases concerning high level drug dealing and the possession and distribution of high-quality firearms

R v BP – Prosecution of police officer and others for sophisticated drug dealing enterprise involving the use of intelligence

Death by Dangerous/Careless Driving

R v CT – Defending a man for causing death by careless driving. He was acquitted by the jury

Election Fraud

R v CM – Defending MP charged with election fraud in the most significant contest in the 2015 General Election in which Nigel Farage stood against him. Acquitted by the jury https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-46749743

Fraud & Financial Crime

Defending in numerous paper heavy DWP benefit frauds that attracted national publicity.

R v IS and CF – Prosecution Junior Counsel in high level fraud (£14 million +). This was one of the first iPad trials in the country. I devised the electronic presentations and produced all of the documentation that went before the court. Both defendants were convicted