Graham Rishton
Call To The Bar: 2022Graham Rishton joins chambers as a transferring legal professional after beginning his
career at a Chambers and Partners Band 1 national criminal defence firm. He qualified as
a solicitor and higher court advocate in 2016 and rose swiftly through the ranks to become
an associate upon qualification and a director of the firm by 2019.
Graham acted as a solicitor for clients across a broad spectrum of criminal offences
including murder, sexual offences and drugs conspiracies. He developed a particular
specialism in acting for clients accused of large-scale fraud offences. He most notably
acted in the Royal Household Bribery Case and in the SFO v Unaoil trial, reported as
being the largest bribery case in history. He developed a reputation for his ability to
absorb large amount of material, attention to detail and his approachable manner with
clients.
Graham completed a six-month pupillage under the supervision of Brendan O’Leary and
accepted instructions across a variety of criminal law, motoring law and licensing matters.
Notable successes included securing a suspended sentence for a landlord who had assaulted a customer thereby causing permanent eye damage, and a suspended sentence for a man who was one of the first to be prosecuted under the new strangulation laws. He was also able to successfully argue exception hardship on behalf of a driver who had accrued 36 points on his licence.
Away from law, Graham enjoys relaxing with his young family, playing football for his local side and running in the hills with his faithful golden retriever Edith.
He will accept instructions to both defend and prosecute as he builds upon his extensive
experience of the magistrates’ court and develops a busy crown court practice.