Clare Connelly

Year of Call 2013

Clare has a mixed civil and criminal practice which focuses on reparation, personal injury, FAIs and Public Inquiries, health and safety prosecutions and regulatory crime.

Clare is currently instructed in a large number of complex product liability and medical negligence cases; fatal cases including those arising from death in custody, and employer's liability. Clare has previously successfully pursued and defended personal injury actions involving public liability, occupiers liability, employer’s liability, road traffic accidents, industrial disease and fatal cases.

Clare has substantial experience of defence representation in regulatory and financial crime. As counsel for the first accused in the longest trial in UK legal history (20 months duration), involving charges of fraud and money laundering, she expertly managed thousands of productions and hundreds of witness statements.

Applying her extensive knowledge of civil and criminal law has proven to be particularly effective in Fatal Accident Inquiries and Public Inquiries following a fatality.

Clare has represented appellants in civil actions involving Freedom of Information and applicants in Judicial Review. She has appeared before First Tier Tribunals and the Upper Tribunal. She is regularly instructed in criminal appeals against conviction and sentence.

Utilising the skills and expertise developed whilst a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Glasgow, Clare is regularly instructed in non-routine cases that require a broad and deep knowledge of legal principle. Such instructions have been fruitful in developing and extending the law, see McCaffer v Lord Advocate, PF Glasgow and Chief Constable, Police Scotland 2015 S.L.T. (Sh Ct) 44. 

Clare is the editor of Green's Criminal Law Bulletin and Renton & Brown's Statutory Fraud and Business Regulation.

Representative Cases

Public Inquiry into the Death of Sheku Bayoh 2020/2021

The Late Abdel Basset Ali Mohammed Al Megrahi v HM Advocate 2020

Hastings v Finsbury Orthopaedics Limited [2019] CSOH 96, 2019 SLT 1411

Jamal v HM Advocate 2019 SCCR 135

GR v Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board and Johnstone & Johnstone [2018} CSOH 109

AH v Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board and Johnstone & Johnstone; SR v Johnstone & Johnstone and Lothian Health Board; YT v Spire Healthcare, Milne and Cousin Biotec; EN v  Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board and American Medical Systems [2018] CSOH 57

McLaren v HM Advocate - appeal against conviction and sentence 2018.

HMA v McLaren and Others, Glasgow High Court, 2017 - Junior Counsel for first accused in longest trial in UK legal history involving fraud and money laundering charges.

Sangster v HM Advocate 2017 SCCR 119 - Sole Counsel representing Sangster senior in appeal against conviction where the requirement to adopt earlier identification at VIPER was in dispute.

PF v Sweet Dreams (Nelson) Limited, 2015 - Sole Counsel - Represented company accused accused of failure to complay with regulation 10 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, who were subsequently admonished.

McCaffer v Lord Advocate, PF Glasgow and Chief Constable, Police Scotland 2015 S.L.T. (Sh Ct) 44 - Sole Counsel in Reparation action. This reparation action sought damages for wrongful detention of the accused. The case was pled on the basis of ECHR rather than common law rights and protections. The pursuer successful argued that the common law protections of immunity from suit and requirements to show malice do not apply where damages are sought for a breach of Article 5 of the Convention.

HMA v Ward and Leyden 2015 - Junior Counsel in evidential hearing re admissibility of "bugged" conversations between co-accused in police station.

HM Advocate v Kennedy and Owen 2014 - Junior Counsel in armed robbery trial.

HM Advocate v McCurdie 2014 - Sole counsel. unanimous acquittal of accused on charge of section 1 of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009.

Addison v HM Advocate 2014 SCCR 608 - Appeal against conviction based on failure of Solicitor to offer accused option of QC representation at trial

Rondos v HM Advocate 2015 SCCR 39 - Application for leave to appeal to Supreme Court in respect of fraud conviction. 

Kupka and Rondos v HM Advocate [2014] HCJAC 37 - Appeal against fraud conviction.

PF v Leonardo Carbiner 2013 - Sole Counsel - Successful representation of Dentist charged with 3 counts of fraud.

P(B) v HMA [2013] HCJAC 139 - Sole Counsel in application to Supreme Court

P(B) v HMA [2013] HCJAC 126 - Sole Counsel - Appeal against extradition.

Contact Us

  • Compass Chambers
    Parliament House
    Edinburgh
    EH1 1RF