Pictured: Criminal law specialist Richard Bullock and Jill Hawkins have joined law firm Challinors Nottingham office, where the crime team is headed by Matt Goode, with Partner and team head of the Midlands crime team Ghulam Sohail (far right)

Criminal Defence expert Jill Hawkins and Criminal Litigation specialist Richard Bullock have joined the Nottingham office of Midlands law firm Challinors.

They become part of Challinors top ranking, thirty-strong dedicated Business and Serious Crime team, which operates across the region. 

Led by Partner Ghulam Sohail, Challinors Crime team received Band 1 ranking in the latest Chambers & Partners Directory for the third consecutive year, and was recognised by Legal 500 Directory for its specialisation in serious fraud and complex crime.

Jill Hawkins was previously a Director of Cartwright King, and has specialised in Mental Health law since 2009. Chambers Directory has recognised Jill Hawkins as 'strong with a big presence' for her Mental Health and Youth Court expertise, providing representation for youths throughout the Midlands.

Richard Bullock is a highly experienced and well regarded Solicitor advocate and has practiced Criminal Litigation almost exclusively since 1986. He was head of the Criminal Department at Jackson Quinn for fifteen years before setting up the specialist Criminal and Law practice Carringtons in 2004. 

Ghulam Sohail, Partner and team head, comments: "Both Jill and Richard are highly experienced criminal law specialists and both are excellent additions to our growing, thriving team.

"Jill has led many high profile and serious cases over the last 28 years. Alongside her criminal health and mental health expertise, Jill is a specialist Youth Court solicitor and has grown to become the solicitor of choice in such matters in the region.

"Richard is an active and well-known advocate in criminal law. He has been involved in the Magistrates and Crown Courts, and has extensive experience of dealing with Prison adjudications and advising at local police stations. His robust advice, realistic approach to cases, clear and concise style of advocacy will be a huge resource for our team."

Challinors Nottingham criminal defence team is headed by Matt Goode. The team is currently acting for a number of clients in a range of high value fraud and complex crime cases.

Matt adds: "Challinors' criminal defence team is on call seven days a week and is embracing the challenge of delivering a credible alternative to the legal providers in the Nottingham market. Jill and Richard are highly regarded, respected and expert criminal specialists who add significant strength to our top ranking team."

Challinors has five strategically-located offices across the Midlands in Nottingham, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Halesowen. It has a team of over 200, including 17 partners, over 100 fee earners, and teams dedicated to providing specialist legal services from corporate and commercial, construction, dispute resolution, fraud and asset recovery, to professional negligence, business crime, commercial property and employment. The firm is Number 1 in the Chambers UK Directory in a number of categories including crime.