Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Criminal advocates’ practical checklist for remote hearings in England and Wales: preparation, CVP/VHS access, DCS/DARTS, conferences, court dress, formalities, and video/telephone conduct

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Checklists

This Checklist

This Checklist sets out essential, hands-on advice for criminal practitioners who need to take part in hearings held via live audio or live video links. Read it alongside the Practice Note: Practical guide to remote hearings in the criminal courts, which contains fuller step-by-step assistance on, for example, preparation in advance, technology considerations, and participation in the hearing itself through platforms including the dedicated Cloud Video Platform (CVP) and the Video Hearings Service (VHS). Be aware that VHS is not yet fully rolled out across England and Wales. It was withdrawn from service in July 2024 to resolve stability problems, and HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) has stated it plans to reinstate it after completing a scheduled handover to a new service provider. When back in use, local courts will notify users of the start of VHS hearings, and access details will arrive from an ‘HMCTS.reform.net’ email address. The Lord Chief Justice has issued guidance on advocates’ remote attendance in the Crown Court, and every practitioner should ensure they are familiar with it as a matter of routine...

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Adam Craggs

RPC

Adam Craggs is a partner and head of RPC's Tax, Investigations and Financial Crime Team. He has been advising clients for over thirty-five years on contentious tax and financial crime matters. Adam typically acts for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, trustees and corporates. He assists his clients on a wide range of contentious tax and financial crime issues, including investigations conducted by UK regulatory bodies. He advises those facing criminal fraud investigations and prosecutions and assists those facing urgent crisis situations, such as a 'dawn raid'. During his long career, Adam has led many cases through the civil and criminal courts, including several before the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union.He is experienced in managing complex cross-border international investigations, both civil and criminal....

Thomas Jenkins

RPC

Tom is Of Counsel in RPC's Tax, Investigations and Financial Crime team. He has extensive experience in conducting anti-corruption investigations and advising on the implementation and enhancement of compliance programmes. He advises individual and corporate clients facing a wide range of financial crime and regulatory defence challenges, including multi-jurisdictional investigations and prosecutions involving bribery, corruption, fraud, money laundering and market abuse.Tom acts for clients in a broad range of sectors with particular experience in engineering, heavy industry, construction, aviation, oil and gas, finance, commodities trading and healthcare. ...

Web page updated on 20/05/2026

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