Olliers Solicitors

Olliers Solicitors: criminal defence from Manchester and London

Olliers Solicitors is a criminal defence law firm headquartered in Manchester with a presence in London. Its team of 32 criminal defence lawyers acts for individuals, businesses and other organisations. The firm describes itself as nationally recognised and states that it combines legal work with client care, a positioning it summarises as pairing legal brilliance with unmatched client care.

The practice is structured around the defence of corporate and financial fraud crime, regulatory offences, serious crime, sexual offences, professional discipline and motoring offences. Within that scope, the firm presents a proactive approach to the investigative stage of a criminal case, with emphasis on pre-charge engagement, discretion and intervening before an investigation progresses further.

Fraud and financial crime

The fraud practice covers corruption and bribery, cryptocurrency investigations, dawn raids, defence statements and allegations of furlough fraud. It also addresses the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency regime and failure to prevent fraud, alongside investigations by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HMRC, the Insolvency Service and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Related work includes restraint orders and account freezing orders, money laundering and fraud investigations.

Regulatory offences and professional discipline

On the regulatory side, the firm lists Companies House prosecutions, the Covid-19 public inquiry, data protection offences, director disqualification, Environment Agency investigations, firearms licensing appeals, food safety, the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR), Health & Safety (HSE) investigations, housing regulation, intellectual property prosecutions, internal investigations, insolvency service investigations, public inquiries and inquests, interviews under caution, Trading Standards prosecutions, transport regulatory work, CQC regulatory matters, Ofsted investigations and enforcement, and licensing compliance, reviews and appeals.

Its professional discipline practice covers accountancy, anti-money laundering (AML), the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS), the General Dental Council (GDC), the General Medical Council (GMC), the General Optical Council (GOC), the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Social Work England (SWE), the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), sports disciplinary matters, student misconduct proceedings and the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

Serious crime, sexual offences and domestic allegations

The serious crime team handles assisting an offender, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to supply drugs, county lines, drugs offences, firearms, joint enterprise, murder and manslaughter, people trafficking and the Modern Slavery Act, and terrorism. The firm also publishes murder case studies.

Sexual offences work includes historic sexual abuse, indecent images, grooming, rape and sexual assault, removal from the sex offenders register, revenge porn, sexual communication with a child, sexual offences involving children, sexual harm prevention orders (SHPO), sexual risk orders (SRO), and voyeurism and upskirting. Domestic allegations cover common assault in domestic abuse cases, controlling and coercive behaviour, DVPN/DVPO, harassment and stalking, non-fatal strangulation and stalking protection orders.

Motoring law and general criminal defence

The motoring law offering spans drink driving, drug driving, drunk in charge of a motor vehicle, failing to provide a specimen for analysis, careless driving, causing death by careless driving, causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs, failing to furnish driver information, failing to stop or report an accident, speeding, early return of driving licence following disqualification, no insurance, Blue Badge offences, exceptional hardship, perverting the course of justice and special reasons hearings.

Beyond motoring, the firm covers assault and grievous bodily harm, communication offences, criminal defence for professionals, crisis management, fare evasion, football offences, internet and cyber crime, kidnap and false imprisonment, PNC arrest record removal, robbery and theft, the magistrates court and youth crime. It also addresses ADHD and autism in the context of criminal law.

Pre-charge work and out-of-court routes

A distinct area of the practice is pre-charge representation: voluntary police interviews, clients released under investigation, clients released on police bail, pre-charge engagement, charging guidance, the national file standard, pre-charge engagement case studies, out-of-court disposals and guidance for helping a child through investigations.

Recognition and leadership

The firm states that it is ranked as a top tier law firm by both the Legal 500 2027 and the Chambers Guide 2026. It also reports being a Times Best Law Firm 2026, the Manchester Legal Awards 2025 Crime Team of the Year, and the Modern Law Awards 2026 Criminal Team of the Year as well as Boutique Law Firm of the Year. Recent announcements on its site include a Band One ranking for crime in Chambers 2027, a shortlisting for the North West Growth Awards 2027, a Tier One crime ranking with its health practice rising to Tier Two in Legal 500 2027, and the appointment of a new partner to strengthen the regulatory team.

Matthew Claughton is identified as Managing Director. In a statement published by the firm, he describes client wellbeing as a non-negotiable priority and frames the work as supporting clients through what is often the most stressful period of their lives.