How can we best work with defendants as an intermediary?
This question was central to a Q&A session with Mary Prior KC, Chair of the Criminal Bar Association and Head of 36 Crime, part of the 36 Group chambers in London.
The session was chaired by Jane Hinton (pictured above), an experienced member of The Intermediary Cooperative, who was joined on the call by Amy Heynes, an incoming member of The Intermediary Cooperative and newly qualified Intermediary.
We were delighted that Mary was able to share her thoughts and experiences of how the relationship between defence counsel and intermediary can best work to assist a defendant in a trial. Mary started the session by remarking that “a good intermediary is a vital part of the justice system”.
The recording of the session will now be made available to other members of TIC, so that they can also gain from Mary’s expertise.
Jane said: “I have known Mary professionally for some time and we were honoured when she offered to run the session for the benefit of TIC’s membership.
“It was particularly pleasing to hear Mary’s thoughts around what makes for a good working relationship between defence counsel and intermediary and how closely this aligns with what we call the ‘TIC Difference’.
The TIC Difference includes offering consistency of intermediaries, members who come from a range of specialist professional backgrounds and providing recommendations based on bespoke personalised assessments.
Jane added: “I was so pleased that Amy, our newest TIC intermediary who has recently undergone her training, was part of the call too so she could hear first hand just how powerful the role of an intermediary can be.
“We also discussed how important it is that the professional relationship between intermediary and defence counsel is as dynamic as possible and that we always have the needs of the vulnerable person front of mind.
“Establishing the working parameters at the very start is also of huge importance as is understanding that no two cases are the same.”