After many years experience working elsewhere in the criminal justice system the firm was founded in March 1993 by David Ake as a sole practitioner specialising in Criminal Defence work. David was later joined by Mark Pritchard in 1994 & then Theresa Clark in 1997 who both subsequently became partners. The partnership was then enhanced further by the very experienced Jayne Dodson & most recently by Gail Guest who had been with the firm for several years & who along with Theresa also specialises in Mental Health.

The firm was awarded a Legal Aid Franchise as soon as it was introduced & has maintained their franchise to the highest level. David Ake & Co currently holds a category 1 franchise & the Legal Services Commission Standard Quality Mark.

In addition to work from clients who approach us all our Solicitors are qualified & approved to take instructions from the Duty Solicitor Scheme.

As stated elsewhere David Ake & Co core business is dealing with all types of Criminal Defence work & we have extensive experience in handling cases ranging from homicides & large scale high value conspiracy allegations to everyday road traffic allegations. We regularly deal with cases of alleged Drug Trafficking and related allegations, Burglary & other Theft Act allegations, Sexual allegations, Assault allegations, Drink Driving and Speeding as well as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO's) and Proceedings for alleged Breaches of Court Orders. The list goes on & includes many high profile cases over the years

In the unfortunate event the Police wish to interview a client as a firm we currently operate an emergency call out rota for Police Interviews 24 hours 7 days a week 365 days a year & frequently attend many local Police Stations to represent not only our own clients but also other firms clients as an agent.

For those aggrieved by their contact with the Police we can also offer advice & assistance and where appropriate referral.

For those sent to the Magistrates Court we operate principally at the Leeds Magistrates Courts - which we face directly onto across Westgate - but we also regularly appear before the Wakefield, Selby, Pontefract & Bradford Courts. Where merited we also travel wider & our business takes us across not only West Yorkshire but also North & South Yorkshire. Indeed, historically we have had a regular client following from the North Yorkshire & Humberside areas.

Should a client require representation at Crown Court several of the partners have higher rights of audience so are qualified & permitted to also represent clients whose cases have been sent to the Crown Court by the Magistrates, thereby enabling where appropriate & possible potential for continuity of representation from the Police Station through the Magistrates to Crown Court. Again our principal daily business is before Leeds Crown Court - which we also directly face across Westgate - but we also appear York & Bradford Crown Courts & form time to time at the many other Court Centres in the region & elsewhere.

Alternatively, for those clients who find themselves before the Crown Court represented by Counsel we have close working relationships with a number of Barristers Chambers & as a standard we aim to operate only with specialist Criminal Defence Counsel who appear on our approved list of Counsel which we have developed over the years from our experience. In this way we hope to balance a clients needs to particular Counsel & try to ensure the best possible representation

The nature of our core business also necessitates our service extends to other related areas of Law & we also specialise Mental Health, Prison Law & Courts-Martial.

In respect of Mental Health Law this is perhaps the most specialist area of our work being as it is so cross discipline & significant for the clients. We are proud that two of our partners are also qualified members of the Mental Health Review Panel & regularly receive direct instruction from the Panel to assist persons in the Mental Health Estate, for example in connection with tribunals assessing the issue of release. As well as direct instruction from the Panel and clients we also receive third party instructions to assist clients from other professionals, families & other third parties. Our experience in this area has proved to be of significant use in a number of cases before the Criminal Courts & for those in Prison.

Prison Law is the next logically linked area in which we specialise, offering a wide range of services to inmates requiring representation or assistance in relation to matters arising from their sentence. A very small example would include representing those seeking release early or on licence, those subject to disciplinary issues, Parole & Lifer hearings, licence revocations and or those simply encountering difficulty progressing through the categorisation process. There are simply too many areas to mention here save to say that this is an increasing area of work & we are pleased have staff with specialist qualifications in this area & to be an approved firm with the Institute of Prison Law.

We have now enlarged our services further to embrace representation of those soldiers appearing for Court-Martial accused of criminal offences. That system has many features which mirror or very similar to the civilian Crown Court system in which we specialise & the cases often actually involve a civilian offence prosecuted under Military code. Where public funding is available we are approved to take instructions in this area by Army Criminal Legal Aid. We also have working relationships with a number of Counsel and Chambers on our own approved lists who themselves specialise in Court-Martial work & have significant relevant experience.

We are also proud to have been retained for some time by a national professional body to represent their members whenever needed & on a number of occasions to have been directly requested by the Courts & or others to take over representation in a number of significant, serious cases where those previously engaged could no longer act.