Tony Meisels

PARTNER

Tony joined Lewis Nedas & Co as a paralegal in 1992. Having qualified as a solicitor in 2000, Tony became a partner in June 2003.

Tony is an experienced criminal practitioner dealing with a wide range of cases prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service, Revenue and Customs, the Department of Work and Pensions and the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. These cases include serious crime such as murder, GBH, fraud, robbery, people trafficking, rape (including allegations of historical sexual abuse) and the supply of drugs. Tony regularly appears in the Magistrates’ courts across London and the South-East and also represents clients at police stations.

In 2006 Tony obtained his Higher Rights of Audience which enables him to also represent clients in the Crown court.

Recently Tony has successfully defended Ms Fuk Fei Wu in a private prosecution for blackmail and fraud brought by her billionaire lover Samuel Tak Lee who was initially able to hide behind a cloak of anonymity (Lee v Wu). Mr Lee alleged Ms Wu had falsified a pregnancy in order to extract over £3 million from him. However, a jury at Southwark Crown Court found Ms Wu not guilty of fraud and a retrial on the blackmail was ruled to be an abuse of process. The case was widely reported in certain sections of the press especially the Evening Standard and the Daily Telegraph.

Other recent significant cases have included R v S in which the Crown were persuaded to discontinue proceedings against a grandfather in a historical allegation of sexual assault; R v Napoli and others a substantial Ponzi fraud where the Crown discontinued the case against K (represented by Lewis Nedas and Co) having secured convictions and lengthy sentences against most of the co-defendants; and R v Aaron Smith and others in which Tony represented 2 defendants in a multi-handed prosecution of an organised fight in the City of London between rival groups of football supporters.

At present, Tony is representing a disqualified director in proceedings brought under the Company Directors Disqualification Act (1986) following the collapse of a multi-million group of companies (R v T).

A particular area of specialism for Tony is cases involving child pornography and extreme pornographic images downloaded from the internet. Through his experience, he is able to provide knowledgeable advice and where appropriate instruct counsel and forensic computer experts who similarly specialise in such cases. Tony has also developed an extensive understanding of ancillary orders including Sexual Offences Prevention Orders and Foreign Travel Orders under the Sexual Offences Act and can provide advice and assistance where standalone applications are made by the police.

Tony is a member of the committee of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association and deals with law reform and sentencing issues.