Associate
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.
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.
Bartholomew is a calm and reassuring presence at the police station. His tactical astuteness has helped innumerable clients achieve positive results, including ensuring they are not prosecuted. Bartholomew has a particular interest, and great experience, in advising clients who have mental health issues.
Bartholomew has successfully represented countless clients in the Magistrates’ Court. He can calmly navigate clients through what for many is a unique and traumatic experience. He is skilled at all stages of advocacy in the Magistrates’ Court, from bail applications to trials and sentencing hearings.
Bartholomew regularly achieves outstanding outcomes for his clients, including avoiding custodial sentences and achieving discharges when his clients have significant offending histories.
Bartholomew acts for individuals accused of sexual offences, including rape, sexual assault and making / possessing indecent images.
Clients include individuals with high media profiles, regulated professionals, and members of the clergy. He often acts for children in cases where there are parallel school and/or investigations by children’s services.
Bartholomew works as part of a team alongside specialist media lawyers, as well as reputational and family law experts. He understands how distressing these cases can be for both complainants and accused individuals and approaches each case with empathy and respect.
Bartholomew has significant experience of representing individuals accused of all manner of drugs offences, from simple cannabis possession through to large scale ‘Class A’ drugs conspiracy allegations.
Bartholomew has on countless occasions successfully persuaded the police to deal with possession of drugs offences with out of court disposals. Where the police have not properly considered out of court disposals and clients have been charged, Bartholomew has, on a number of occasions, persuaded the prosecution to remit cases back to the police for out of court disposals to be administered.
Bartholomew is expert in using mobile phone cell site analysis to challenge prosecution location evidence and in using drugs experts’ evidence to obtain the best possible results for his clients. Notably, he obtained a community order for a client who pleaded guilty to a drugs offence that normally carries a lengthy custodial sentence.
Bartholomew has extensive experience of representing clients accused of violent crime, ranging from minor assaults through to murder, from police investigation through to trial. Notable recent cases include:
Bartholomew is passionate about helping vulnerable individuals caught up in the criminal justice system. He is experienced in representing clients suffering from autism spectrum disorders, and mental health disorders including paranoid schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder.
Having frequently received referrals from mental health professionals and solicitors, Bartholomew has advised a large number of individuals with mental health issues in police interviews, both in psychiatric hospitals and police stations. He has significant skill in exploring issues such as fitness to plead, insanity, defences involving mental illnesses, mental health disposals and whether defendants should have the assistance of an intermediary during trials. He regularly utilises expert psychiatrists and psychologists to achieve the best possible outcomes for clients.
Bartholomew has an exceptional track record in persuading the police and prosecution to drop cases on the basis that his client’s mental health issues mean it is not in the public interest for a prosecution to proceed. He has secured acquittals in fact finding hearings, absolute discharges, hospital orders and vastly reduced sentences in cases involving mental health issues.
2 Oct 2024
Hickman & Rose is proud to be recognised again as one of the country’s leading law firms in the 2025 edition of the Legal 500 directory.
The firm’s ‘outstanding’ Serious and…
20 Aug 2024
Bartholomew Dalton has provided a legal commentary in Criminal Law Week on how Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) are being dealt with by Magistrates’ Courts.
DVPOs came into force…
24 Jul 2024
The latest edition of Blackstone’s Magistrates’ Court Handbook, co-written by Hickman & Rose’s Bartholomew Dalton, has been published and is available for purchase.
Authored with Hodge Jones…
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