“Simon is an exceptional barrister. His written submissions are outstanding, making points concisely and persuasively, and his knowledge of the law is exceptional. He is an extremely persuasive advocate.” (Legal 500 – Crime, 2026)

“He is, without doubt, an outstanding barrister. The outcomes achieved by him attest to his exceptional oral advocacy skills.” (Legal 500 – Professional Discipline, 2026)

“He is a superb advocate, with fantastic court presence, and his speeches and submissions are a work of art.” (Chambers & Partners – Crime, 2025)

“Simon is an absolutely exceptional barrister. He is very astute.” (Chambers & Partners – Crime, 2026)

“Simon Gurney is phenomenal and brilliant, with a brain like a computer.” (Chambers & Partners – Financial Crime, 2026)

“Simon is simply fantastic. A go-to barrister who ticks all the boxes, his preparation is excellent, his written work brilliant, and he is a fantastic advocate.” (Legal 500 – Crime, 2025)

“Simon is a gifted barrister with all the attributes, including incredible intelligence and identifying key areas of very voluminous and complex cases.” (Chambers & Partners – Crime, 2026)

“Simon is renowned for attention to detail and client care. You would want him on your side if going into a regulatory battle.” (Chambers & Partners – Professional Discipline, 2026).

Simon Gurney KC has a formidable reputation for his exceptional intellectual ability, diligence, tactical acumen and meticulous preparation. He is an outstanding and skillful advocate who brings sound judgment and tenacity to every case to ensure the best possible result for his clients.

For many years, Simon has been recognised consistently by the legal directories as a leading practitioner, acknowledged for his expertise in three categories: crime; professional discipline; and financial and regulatory crime (including health and safety law).

Simon has an outstanding track record in securing successful outcomes in serious and complex cases.

He specialises in serious criminal litigation, in particular homicide, terrorism, organised crime, financial and regulatory crime and sexual offending. He is instructed in cases of the utmost gravity, sensitivity and complexity. He is renowned as a talented jury advocate.

Simon is often instructed privately pre-charge in substantial cases to advise upon challenges to search warrants by way of application for judicial review; applications to discharge restraint orders; resisting applications for forfeiture of assets and preparing pre-charge representations.

He has substantial expertise in defending professionals accused of misconduct in professional disciplinary proceedings brought by their regulator, both at first instance and on appeal.

Those areas of expertise complement one another, enabling him to offer a comprehensive service to professional clients seeking advice and representation.

Simon’s expertise in defending allegations of fraud and other financial crime is sought by individuals and companies the subject of commercial fraud litigation or civil recovery proceedings pursued by HMRC or the NCA in the tax tribunal or the civil courts.

Simon also has experience of conducting judicial review proceedings arising from across his practice areas.

Simon prides himself on offering a first-rate service, being accessible and maintaining a close working relationship with those who instruct him. His client care skills are widely praised. He provides clear and straight-forward advice on even the most complex matters.

Prior to taking Silk, Simon sat on the Level 4 CPS panels for Serious Crime and Counter-Terrorism.

Simon sits part-time as a Recorder in the Crown Court on the Northern and Midlands Circuits and is authorised to try serious sexual offences.

He is a Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple.

Notable cases in which Simon is currently instructed include:

R v MB – instructed to defend a client accused of preparing acts of terrorism in concert with Jihad Al-Shamie, the man responsible for the attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue in October 2025. Listed for trial at Manchester Crown Court in July 2026.

R v Joe Anderson – instructed (with Simon Csoka KC) to represent the former Mayor of Liverpool, accused of misconduct in a public office and bribery. Listed for trial at Manchester Crown Court in April 2027.

R v Patrick Djembe – instructed to prosecute a Home Office employee accused of misconduct in a public office. The allegations arise from his alleged use of confidential information to interfere with the presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. Listed for trial at Sheffield Crown Court in September 2027.

R v Muhammed Billal – instructed to prosecute a man convicted of planning an act of terrorism in the UK and then arranging to travel to Syria to join an ISIS training camp. Awaiting sentence at the Central Criminal Court in July 2026.

R v MP – instructed to defend a man accused of garnering support for and fundraising for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation, in the wake of the 7^th October 2023 attacks. Listed for trial at Nottingham Crown Court in November 2026.

PM & Sintra Global Inc v HMRC – instructed (with Alistair Webster KC) to represent individual and corporate appellants who successfully challenged, at first instance, HMRC’s claim in the Tax Tribunal to over £30m of VAT and excise duty, alleged to be owed because of a vast alcohol inward diversion fraud. Awaiting permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Directory Quotes:

“In financial crime, he’s all over it. He has a properly analytical mind. He’s very organised and excellent in oral and written advocacy.” Financial crime – Chambers & Partners, 2026

“He is super smart and very thorough in his preparation, which earns him respect from the tribunal.” Professional Discipline – Chambers & Partners, 2026

“Simon Gurney is a great lawyer, with significant experience in appellate work.” Financial crime – Chambers & Partners, 2026

“His understanding of the law, ability to analyse and his written work are exceptional.” Financial crime – Chambers & Partners, 2025

“Simon is an outstanding intellect and extremely hard-working.” Financial crime – Chambers & Partners, 2025

“He is an extremely effective advocate who has a fantastic way of preparing written work.” Financial crime – Chambers & Partners, 2025

“Simon’s ability to get to grips with large volumes of material very quickly is really impressive.” Financial crime – Chambers & Partners, 2025

“Simon is a go-to barrister for niche, unusual cases with procedural issues.” Professional Discipline – Chambers & Partners, 2025

“His preparation is meticulous and he is superb with clients.” Crime – Chambers & Partners, 2025

“He works incredibly hard for clients and has one of the sharpest legal minds and is a real standout.” Crime – Chambers & Partners, 2025

“Simon is exceptionally bright and a joy to work with, as his preparation is second-to-none and he is a go-to counsel for serious complex financial and business fraud cases. His written work is excellent and his advocacy exceptional; a true star …” Legal 500, 2025

“Simon’s technical abilities are unmatched, as he is able to quickly identify the prevalent issues in a case and provide sound and considered advice on how to approach them. Simon is particularly skilled when it comes to matters involving procedural irregularities and potential public law issues, and he approaches these matters with tenacity, but has an excellent ability to be able to set these out clearly and succinctly to his lay clients” Legal 500, 2025

“Simon Gurney is a barrister with strong expertise in representing police officers, healthcare professionals and teachers before their regulatory bodies. He is experienced in everything from fitness-to-practise hearings to High Court and Court of Appeal advocacy.” Professional Discipline – Chambers and Partners, 2024

“Extremely bright, calm and unflappable. Excellent client care skills and a pleasure to work with.” Professional Discipline – Chambers and Partners, 2024

“His written work is brilliant. He’s a fantastic lawyer and one of the stars on the circuit.”  Crime – Chambers and Partners, 2024

“Simon is one of the best barristers around and a joy to work with. He is highly sought-after due to his immense intellect and amazing client care skills, he is a real stand-out performer, and he is extremely hard working with excellent written work.”  Legal 500, 2024

“Simon is an extremely impressive barrister who has a rapidly expanding reputation in regulatory work… he is a first-class barrister, a quick thinker, and a persuasive advocate.” Crime (General and Fraud) – Legal 500, (2024

“A first-class choice for heavyweight fraud cases. A peerless lawyer who finds the defences everyone else has missed. Tenacious in fighting for his clients, he puts a huge amount of work into case preparation.” – Legal 500 (2023)

“Simon is an outstanding barrister, exceptionally bright and fantastic, both on paper and in front of a jury. He is a master tactician, a very calm and persuasive advocate and puts clients at ease without difficulty, and an extremely professional barrister.” – Legal 500 (2023)

“Simon instantly builds brilliant rapport with lay clients… His advice is absolutely instrumental in directing the strategy of the client’s approach. He advises confidently and makes himself available to answer follow-up queries. It is a pleasure to work with him.” – Legal 500 (2023)

“Simon is an exceptional barrister… possesses meticulous attention to detail and excellent advocacy skills… very good at forensic analysis.. written work is fantastic. He is empathetic with clients… He has such an encyclopaedic knowledge of his own case that in court he can focus on the finer details.”  – Chambers & Partners (2023)

“Intellectually formidable and well-organised… a hugely impressive advocate, whether he is arguing a complex issue of law before the Court of Appeal or arguing a case before a jury.” – Legal 500 (2021/22)

“A quick thinker and a persuasive advocate. He is sought out due to his encyclopaedic legal knowledge and his ability to apply that to defences and legal arguments. In complicated cases he has an unrivalled mastery of detail.” (Chambers & Partners, 2020)

“a legend when it comes to professional disciplinary work” who “has a fantastic success rate” … “calm, considered and methodical in his approach” (Chambers & Partners, 2019)