Bartholomew Dalton

Bartholomew Dalton is an accomplished criminal defence solicitor who provides expert advice in relation to all stages of criminal cases, from investigation through to trial and appeal.

He has represented clients accused of a wide range of offences including murder, firearms offences, robbery, rape, people trafficking, large scale drugs supply, driving offences, regulatory offences, and multi-million pound frauds. He is an experienced representative at the police station, advocate in the Magistrates’ Court and litigator in both the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts.

Bartholomew understands the severe impact that a criminal investigation and case can have on his clients’ lives, regardless of the seriousness of the allegations. He takes pride in his diligent case preparation and is acknowledged as a persuasive and tenacious advocate who achieves the best possible results. He is experienced at guiding professionals and high profile individuals through the criminal process and has an excellent record of persuading prosecuting authorities to discontinue cases at an early stage. He was recently commended in a High Court judgment for his “energetic pursuit of [his client’s] release right through the night and early hours” and for his “dedicated professional representation”.

Bartholomew is the co-author of the two most recent editions of the leading practitioners’ handbook Blackstone’s Magistrates’ Court Handbook, published by Oxford University Press, and is currently working on the 2025 edition. He is also a member of Criminal Law Week’s commentary board and a committee member and the law reform officer for the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association. In September 2025, Bartholomew became a member of the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, having been appointed by the Lord Chancellor in consultation with the Lady Chief Justice.

Bartholomew completed an LLM at UCL where he was awarded the Leonard Sainer Scholarship. He went on to achieve a distinction in his LPC at Nottingham Law School. He qualified as a solicitor in a highly regarded East London criminal defence department in 2017 before joining Hickman & Rose in 2021.