Nick Freeman
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Nick Freeman (born 1956 in Nottingham) is principal partner of Manchester based legal practice Freeman & Co., best known as a celebrity motoring lawyer, nicknamed "Mr Loophole" by the British tabloid press - and resulting in him being the third most mentioned lawyer in the UK [1].
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[edit] Biography
Freeman’s father was in retail, but warned him there would not be a business for him to take over. Although harbouring ambitions to become a professional golfer, he was persuaded to study law [2]. Freeman completed his A-levels a year early, and so worked in Paris as a waiter for a year to save for his first car. He studied law at Trent Polytechnic, followed by law school at the College of Law in Chester; and on graduation Freeman became an Articled Clerk in Nottingham.
He won an advocacy competition, and was hired as a prosecutor for Greater Manchester Police in 1981. In 1983, he moved to a firm of criminal lawyers in Manchester, and was a partner within six months. After 16 years, although still a criminal lawyer, his was a practice inside a practice due to his speciality in motoring offences.
Aged 42, he left and set-up Freeman & Co. He is famed for getting those that can afford his fees acquitted of all manner of motoring offences, and is reputed to earn £10,000 per day and be one of the highest paid lawyers in the UK.
Freeman also still handles legal aid work and is on the Legal Services Commission’s specialist fraud panel [3].
On 30 October 2006 Freeman was arrested by Greater Manchester Police at premises in the centre of Manchester, and was held at a police station. The arrest was on behalf of an investigation being undertaken by Gwent Police [4].
[edit] Methodology
While some of the offences Freeman defends could be argued to be minor ones, others are genuine offences such as drink driving.
[edit] Briefing
The client never meets Freeman - he prefers to just deal in the facts, not wanting to be compromised by any extraneous detail a defendant might reveal to him. The first handshake usually happens minutes after the case has ended [5].
[edit] Loopholes
Freeman's knowledge of motoring law often exposes police officers not following the legal process, identifying discrepancies in the evidence or shortcomings in procedures leading up to charges - establishing that inadequate statutory warnings were given before blood or breath tests were taken.
- In 2001 defended a woman found slumped at the wheel of her car. She was found nearly four times over the drink-drive limit and with an empty bottle of vodka at her feet. Acquitted after Freeman demonstrated that police had not read her her rights.[citation needed]
- Defended businessman Jon Bradshaw who had crashed his car, seriously injuring an innocent family, was himself taken to hospital seriously injured. The law forbids the police from taking blood from an unconscious person, but now allows it on condition that consent is obtained from the person afterwards. The police surgeon asked one of the team attending the businessman to take some blood. The businessman was over the limit, but the legislation says that someone who is not associated with the driver’s care must take the blood. As a surgeon directly involved took it, Bradshaw was acquitted.[citation needed]
- Got a motorcyclist off a 132 mph speeding charge on a technicality, by quoting case law from 1922 [6]
- Defending a policeman on drink-driving charges, acquitted because police at the officer's own station had not followed proper procedure while arresting him.[citation needed]
Freeman admits that he does have two clients whom he has cleared on technicalities three times.[citation needed]
[edit] Clients
His first high profile case was that of Sir Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999, where Freeman argued that Ferguson had to use the hard shoulder to get to the training ground to allow for his upset stomach and need for a toilet. Clients since have included:
- David Beckham - Freeman's second most famous let-off. He lost the original case without Freeman, and the appeal with Freeman defending - but gained his licence back after Freeman suggested that Beckham was being chased by the paparazzi.
- Andy Cole
- Lee Bowyer - the Crown Prosecution Service initially alleged that Bowyer had been driving at an average 112mph, peaking at 132mph. Freeman negotiated with the CPS at Northumberland court, and the West Ham United midfielder pleaded guilty to driving at 99mph on the A1. He was banned for 42 days and fined £650. It prompted a furious response from road safety charity Brake.
- Steve McFadden
- Colin Montgomerie
- Tiff Needell - cleared of failing to supply details in relation to a speeding ticket, and the speeding offence by Pontypridd magistrates[7]
- Ronnie O'Sullivan - Freeman accused the magistrate of winking at a journalist. The magistrate replied: "Why would I wink at anybody? Do you think I'm gay or something?" Freeman resultantly had the trial stopped. At the retrial, the court accepted the explanation that O'Sullivan was "too depressed" to provide a urine sample
- Shaun Ryder
- Wayne Rooney
- William Stobart - the driver of a car allegedly doing 116 mph on the M6 said he was William Stobart: but was he the same William Stobart who exercised his right not to attend the hearing at Penrith Magistrates which no doubt any question of identification could have been settled? The court decided the prosecution hadn’t proved the driver was Mr Freeman’s client, Cumbrian haulage tycoon William Stobart [8]
- Matthew Vaughn
- Jonathan Woodgate
- Dwight Yorke
Unsuccessful cases have included the defence of West Bromwich Albion striker Lee Hughes, and model Caprice Bourret who Freeman claimed has a urinary tract infection, and that she was affected by the drugs she was taking - she was banned for 12 months.
[edit] Personal life
Freeman and his wife live in Knutsford, Cheshire; and have a holiday villa on the Cote d'Azur.
Freeman drives either a Bentley Azure convertible or a Bentley Continental GT. Past cars have included a Mercedes SLK55, and an Aston Martin that he got so fed up with he handed it back to the dealer [9].
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/pressroom/2006/180906.html
- ^ http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/features/view=feature.law?FEATUREID=282142
- ^ http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/features/view=feature.law?FEATUREID=282142
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6100970.stm
- ^ http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain.jsp?lnk=601&featureid=374&description=Nick%20Freeman
- ^ http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain.jsp?lnk=601&featureid=374&description=Nick%20Freeman
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6166724.stm
- ^ http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/opinion/viewarticle.aspx?id=361659
- ^ http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain.jsp?lnk=601&featureid=374&description=Nick%20Freeman
