If a friend or loved one has been arrested, expert legal advice from Vardags can transform their situation. As top criminal lawyers for high net worth and high income individuals, we can help your loved one protect their liberty, their reputation, and their career. We often work closely with our Reputation & Privacy department, our Employment department, and our Family department to provide complete legal support in every aspect of life that might be affected by a criminal investigation.
Our specialist criminal lawyers are available to advise and represent our clients—often entrepreneurs, professionals, sports stars, and celebrities—around the clock. We understand the impact on the individual arrested, as well as those close to them, that a criminal accusation can have, whether it be fraud, sexual or drug crimes, or anything else.
Good legal representation can prevent your loved one from being charged, whilst having the very best criminal defence lawyer will be vital if their matter proceeds to trial.
Our team will help your friend or loved one to minimise the impact of their arrest on their life and career, and on those closest to them.
If you need a lawyer immediately because a person has been taken into custody or involved in an incident, Vardags can provide emergency legal cover at any time.
The circumstances in which a police officer may make a lawful arrest are clearly defined in statute, and in all such circumstances the power to arrest only becomes exercisable where the arresting officer has reasonable grounds for believing the arrest is necessary.
The custody officer must make available any documents or material necessary to challenge the lawfulness of a person’s arrest and detention. At Vardags we are proactive in ensuring that the decision to arrest and detain is thoroughly scrutinised and robustly challenged where necessary.
When someone is arrested and detained at a police station they each have a designated custody officer whose primary responsibility is the welfare of that person during their time in custody.
The maximum time someone can be held in custody pre-charge is 24 hours. The custody sergeant is responsible for ensuring the detention remains lawful throughout that period. They are also responsible for ensuring any action taken during the detention period is in accordance with legislation and the codes of practice, including any searches conducted by investigating officers, interviews, and other steps considered necessary to further the investigation.
At the outset of a person’s detention the detained person is advised of their rights during detention, which include the right to inform someone of their arrest and their right to free and independent legal advice. A detained person is also entitled to speak with someone for a reasonable period of time over the telephone.
Where a person appears under the age of 18 they will be considered a juvenile. The custody sergeant will ensure that an appropriate adult – usually a parent – is informed of the detention and will ask them to attend the police station and accompany their child during the detention period.
Where the detainee exercises their right to legal advice, they must be permitted to consult with a solicitor as soon as practicable.
We offer a free consultation to qualifying individuals. Please call our confidential enquiry line on 020 7404 9390. Lines are staffed 24 hours.
When you contact us a member of our client relations team will take the full details of your situation, assess whether we can assist you, and if so, determine the best team for your case.
Vardags is one of the UK’s leading divorce law firms. We specialise in complex, high net worth and international cases. The Legal 500 has said of Vardags: “The team is noted for its sheer intellect”
Vardags is among the leading family law firms in the UK. Our solicitors specialise in complex cases for high net worth individuals, including international child relocation, child abduction, and prenuptial agreements. The Legal 500 has said that "clients feel in totally safe hands" with Vardags' Children & Family lawyers.
Our reputation and privacy team, headed by top media lawyer Alex McCready, works in and out of the public eye on cases involving defamation, privacy and reputation management. We provide expert advice and representation across the full range of reputation and privacy related matters, including crisis management, emergency injunctions and actions against online and new media.
Vardags is a leading UK law firm with expertise in complex disputes relating to a range of corporate law matters. Our team has a wealth of expertise to help clients with their legal needs.
Vardags is a successful and rapidly-growing law firm with an outstanding reputation for winning cases.
Vardags is a top law firm with a trailblazing fertility and surrogacy department. We have had success with some of the most groundbreaking cases of the last decade in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court, with rulings that have changed the law. Vardags remains at the cutting edge of fertility law, pushing for further improvement of the outdated legislation in place in Britain.
Vardags’ civil litigation team is renowned for its nous and its consistent ability to deliver results.
Vardags is a leading UK law firm, offering substantial expertise in company and commercial legal issues. Our company and commercial team is headed by leading experts, with decades of experience in their respective fields
Vardags is a top professional negligence law firm with expertise in complex and substantial claims. You may have seen our name in the press as our clients are often very high profile. Equally we settle many claims entirely out of the public eye. Our team is led by top professional negligence lawyer, Frank Ryan, who has over 30 years of experience across a range of professional negligence cases.
Vardags' wills and trusts team has the specific expertise to cater to the wills and trusts needs of high-net-worth and high-profile individuals. Richard Todd QC, Leading Counsel for Yasmin Prest said of Vardags: “a note to acknowledge your firm’s pivotal role in achieving such an outstanding result in the recent Supreme Court case of Petrodel v Prest”.
Vardags is a leading family law firm with specialist expertise in assisting clients who are experiencing domestic abuse. We appreciate that those in abusive relationships may face difficulties contacting us. We can provide additional discretion, such as arranging alternative meeting places and talking via our WhatsApp service.
Vardags Limited is a limited company trading as Vardags, Company No 7199468, registered in England and Wales, having its registered office at 10 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7NG. Vardags is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Number 535955). Its VAT number is 99 001 7230.
Vardags uses the term ‘Partner’ as a professional title only, to describe a Senior Solicitor, Employee or Consultant with relevant experience, expertise and qualifications (whether legally qualified or otherwise) to merit the title. Our Partners are not partners in the legal sense. They are not liable for the debts, liabilities or obligations of Vardags Limited. Similarly, the term ’Director’ is a professional title only, to describe an employee or consultant of Vardags with relevant experience, expertise and qualifications to merit the title. It does not necessarily imply that the relevant individual is a director of Vardags Limited.
A list of the directors of Vardags Limited and a list of the names of those using the title of ’Director’ and ’Partner’ together with their official status is available for inspection at Vardags’ registered office.
If you need a lawyer immediately because a person has been taken into custody or involved in an incident, Vardags can provide emergency legal cover at any time. We offer a swift response in person, anywhere in London or within the M25. Outside that area we may still be able to help. Call our confidential 24 hour enquiry line for immediate help.If you have been arrested or you are the subject of a dawn raid we strongly recommend you have a lawyer present in order to advise you on your options in dealing with police and other investigating bodies and to ensure your rights are protected. Note that we normally charge £350 per hour including travel time and our fees in connection with emergency legal services will usually be a minimum of £2,000 + VAT.
*All enquiries are completely confidential. We do not handle Legal Aid cases. Our lawyers do not undertake criminal work on a no win, no fee basis.