Tessa Nejranowski

Year of Call: 2005

Education / Qualifications

BA (Hons)

Postgraduate Dip Law

Nottingham Law School

Specialist practice areas

Asset Forfeiture & Confiscation
Civil Practice
Crime

Profile

Following successful completion of pupillage in 2007, Tessa accepted an invitation to join Chambers. Tessa has built a successful practice and is regularly instructed to both prosecute and defend in the Crown Court, High Court or Magistrates’ Court.

General Crime:

She has wide ranging experience as a defence and prosecution trial advocate, having appeared alone in the Crown Court in the following trials: Serious assaults, theft and fraud, possessing offensive weapons, robberies, false documents, public order act offences and benefit fraud.

Tessa is a Grade 1 Prosecutor for the CPS.  Tessa also accepts instructions from Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office, the DWP and local authorities. 

Asset Forfeiture & Confiscation:

Tessa completed a six month secondment to the Asset Forfeiture Division at Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (Nov 2007 – May 2008).  She has specialist knowledge in cases involving financial crime and specifically restraint, confiscation and the enforcement of confiscation orders.   

Tessa has appeared at the High Court/Crown Court on numerous occasions in relation to asset forfeiture and confiscation matters.  These range from contested applications to appoint receivers, permission for judicial review hearings, restraint orders and applications for a certificate of increase/decrease.  In addition she has experience of confiscation orders in the Crown Court, and the enforcement of those orders in the Magistrates’ Court.

She also has experience outside the courtroom in drafting and applying for restraint orders, receivership applications and many other applications such as certificates of increase/decrease.  She has experience of all confiscation legislation which includes the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986, the Drug Trafficking Act 1994 the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. 

Tessa also accepts civil instructions, such as small claims hearings.  Prior to coming to the Bar Tessa worked for a solicitors firm in their civil litigation team.

Professional Memberships

Middle Temple

South Eastern Circuit

Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association

Cases of note

RCPO v M (2009) (High Court)
Successfully argued application for the appointment of an enforcement receiver.

RCPO v C and Interested party (2008) (Crown Court)
Consent order at court to ‘uplift’ the confiscation order.

Robert Macleod -v- City of Westminster Magistrates' Court -v- Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (Interested Party) [2009] EWHC 807 (Admin) (High Court)
The Applicant applied for permission to Judicially Review the decision of the Magistrates' Court to commit the applicant to prison in default of payment towards his confiscation order. The application was dismissed.

RCPO v O (2009) (Crown Court)
S.23 POCA Application dismissed due to ‘hidden assets’ argument.