Martin Rackstraw
Partner
Criminal law
Martin has specialised in criminal and connected regulatory work throughout his career. He represents individuals facing very serious charges, across all areas of criminal law and fraud.
Martin has expertise in advising companies about compliance with criminal investigations and procedures, as well as acting for individuals in SFO investigations. He also acted in the first case to be decided by the House of Lords under the controversial Extradition Act 2003, Belgium v Cando Armas.
Martin has been involved in steps to raise awareness of the civil liberties implications of the government’s recent anti-terrorist legislation – including co-authoring and setting up Terrorism Legislation Resource, a website designed to clarify the law relating to investigations and prosecutions in terrorist cases.
He is a member of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association, the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers, and the Environmental Law Foundation.
He studied at Oxford and York Universities and qualified as a solicitor in 1995.
What the professional directories say
Martin is ranked as “up and coming” for Crime work in Chambers UK 2009, which describes him as someone who “approaches his cases with exemplary diligence and commitment”.