Malcolm Bishop KC joined 3 Hare Court in 2020 after defending in the biggest case in the history of the Commonwealth lasting five years to date.
It involved the prosecution for corruption and money laundering by the former premier and some cabinet members of the Turk and Caicos Islands government. There were over 200 witnesses and hundreds of thousands of exhibits. This case played to his strengths of advocacy and dexterity with words. “The art of the advocate is to persuade. His tools are words” he says, “He uses them to make his case sometimes deploying the rapier, sometimes the blunderbuss, his aim is to get the court onside and to look favourably on his case.” His approach with meticulous preparation has been spectacularly successful over the years.
Malcolm has appeared in all Divisions of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court/Privy Council and his range of expertise is unusually varied.
When he started in practice solicitors expected counsel to provide a comprehensive service and this habit of tackling diverse areas of the law has stayed with him all his professional life. As a result, he has regularly handled commercial, property, landlord and tenant, defamation, trusts and public law litigation. To this background he can add huge experience in court room skills including cross examination in criminal work and the attractive presentation of legal arguments which equips him to provide a service second to none.
He had a widely based common law practice, which has become increasingly focused on civil work. He has received instructions from Commonwealth jurisdictions and has a strong connection with Bermuda. He is called to the Turks and Caicos Bar and has advised a leading Dublin firm on potential class compensation actions for alleged child abuse in Jersey.
Malcolm is willing to enter into arrangements in respect of conditional fees and direct access.
Clients welcome his deep knowledge and wide experience in the law. He has advised on hedge funds, compliance issues and money laundering regulations, disputes with HMRC re withholding VAT payments in cases of MTIC fraud, Bermuda based trusts, professional negligence etc.
Malcolm Bishop operates an ‘open door’ policy with all his clients. He welcomes open access and an informal professional relationship.
In August 2020, Malcolm sat down with Robert Rinder (aka Judge Rinder) for the New Law Journal, where they spoke on mentors, diving into Greek translations and restoring the office of the Lord Chancellor. The full conversation can be viewed in the New Law Journal here.
