Marie Spenwyn

Practice Areas

A well-established criminal defence practitioner with an excellent reputation for her thorough preparation, client care and persuasive advocacy in all areas of criminal defence work.

Frequently instructed in high-profile murder, manslaughter and attempted murder cases, Marie is specialist criminal defence practitioner who has developed a particular expertise in dealing with ‘difficult’ and vulnerable clients particularly young defendants and those with mental health problems requiring specialist assessment and the application of adjustments in court. She regularly appears in the most serious cases of violent and sexual crime often involving psychiatric defences and mental health disposals.

She also enjoys a substantial fraud practice - instructed in complex fraud cases requiring analysis of significant volumes of material.

Well-regarded amongst her peers and the judiciary, a very experienced solicitor has described her as being the most thorough, competent, caring and diligent counsel they have ever instructed – and the one they would choose to instruct if ever in trouble themselves.

Marie is an experienced advocacy trainer delivering training for her Inn, ICCA and the University of Law. She was appointed to sit on the Tribunal Appointments Body for COIC for two terms between 2018 and 2024. Appointed as a recorder in the Crown Court in 2022 and a bencher of Gray’s Inn in 2024. She has been on the board of trustees of Transform Justice since 2021, is a committee member of the Youth Practitioners Association and is a school governor.