Drink Driving Solicitors in London

A trusted team of lawyers within a proven track record in defending drink driving cases across London.

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Established over 10 years ago, M.A.J Law has unparalleled experience in defending drink driving cases. Our team of specialist solicitors have first-hand knowledge of all magistrates’ court across London, so we know what to expect.

MAJ Team

Are you facing drink driving charges in London?

We are often asked ‘who are the best drink driving solicitors in London?’ M.A.J Law are an experienced team of specialist drink drive solicitors that can help save your licence or reduce the penalty. We defend all drink driving cases including;

  • Drink driving breath
  • Drink driving blood
  • Drink driving urine
  • Failing to provide a specimen

Your first court appearance at a London Magistrates’ Court will undoubtedly cause you considerable stress and anxiety, but please try not to worry.

Our team of drink driving solicitors will be happy to discuss your options with you, completely free of charge. Remember that you can still win a case even where you’re over the limit.

There are a number of technical defences that apply in these cases.

Whether this relates to the roadside arrest, police station procedure or prosecution disclosure, if mistakes have been made you should not be convicted. Please also remember that we are entitled to negotiate lesser charges where appropriate. We regularly secure ‘plea deals’ with the CPS to avoid driving bans.

Drink Driving Penalties

Drink driving carries a mandatory driving disqualification. The ban will range from 12 months to 3 years upwards, depending upon the seriousness of the offence and any aggravating or mitigating factors.

Alongside the driving ban the court will also impose a financial penalty, community service or a custodial sentence (prison). You are more likely to go to prison if;

i. There is evidence of bad driving

ii. You have similar previous convictions

iii. You are charged with multiple offences

iv. You failed to provide a specimen

v. The level of alcohol was high

Prison is always a ‘last resort’ for the court but this does not mean that it is not possible. We are proud of our track record of keeping our clients out of prison.

You can use our penalty calculator to work out the length of your ban. You can also look at the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines.

 

London Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

You may know by now that we regularly win drink driving offence cases in London. Many of our cases are won due to administrative errors and miscommunication within the CPS. Take a look at the example below from a case at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Our client was charged with a serious drink driving offence. Like many others, he assumed that a guilty plea was his only option. He appointed M.A.J Law to consider the evidence and represent him in court. We quickly identified a number of problems with the evidence (such as unsigned documents and missing paperwork). We therefore advised our client to plead not-guilty.

The CPS failed to provide further evidence following the first court hearing (despite a court direction). The CPS blamed an ‘administrative error’ for not serving crucial evidence! Suffice to say the court didn’t accept the apology and excluded the evidence. Costs were also awarded.

These mistakes are becoming increasingly common in London (most likely due to the unmanageable workload). It’s no secret that London CPS are one of the busiest in the country. Drink driving cases will always be low priority when compared to other common offences like knife crime, gang violence and terrorism. This can lead to silly mistakes being made and long delays in serving evidence. This has contributed to our drink driving solicitors having an unbeatable track record in defending drink driving cases.

 

‘Many people assume that by pleading guilty they will reduce the driving ban. This is not correct. In our opinion, there is very little to lose by pleading not-guilty and checking the evidence. You may be surprised to find that evidence is missing or incomplete. We regularly win cases for these reasons’

Your first court hearing

Please try not to worry about your drink driving court hearing. Our team of barristers and solicitors have been stood next to our clients for over 10 years. If we’re acting for you, then we will do all the talking.

We are currently the highest rated motoring defence firm in the UK. We would usually start by discussing your case over the phone (or in person if you’re local). Simply call and ask to speak to a solicitor. Our initial advice is free of charge and comes with no obligation. Once we’ve gained an understanding of your case, we can tell you whether you have a defence to the allegation (or a

special reason). Remember that a defence could be technical or procedural (you may not realise it’s a defence until we tell you). If we advise you to plead guilty, we can explain how to minimise the sentence imposed by the court. This sometimes involves negotiating with lower charges with the CPS.

To learn more about drink driving defences, please see our case studies.

‘M.A.J Law are committed to providing a first class service at a competitive price. We have not increased our legal fees for three years’ running.’

London Court contact details

The easiest way of finding the correct contact details for the court you are attending is to use the Government’s online service.

Once you locate the correct Magistrates’ Court you will find telephone numbers and email addresses. The map below contains all London Magistrates’ Courts.

Note: We would advise you to speak to a solicitor before contacting the court or CPS. It is in your interests to understand all your options before stepping into court.

What can we help you with?

  • I have been charged with drink driving. What will happen now?

    Don’t panic! We will prepare your case for court, obtain the evidence and explain your options in detail. You may have a defence without realising and could be found not-guilty.

  • I was over the limit in charge of a vehicle. Am I facing a ban?

    Not always. This offence can carry 10 penalty points. We may even be able to defend the charge if you were not going to drive whilst over the legal limit. Please get in touch and we’ll explain the process.

  • I failed to provide a specimen for analysis. What do I do?

    Failing to provide is often treated more seriously than drink driving and can carry an immediate custodial sentence. It’s important to understand the reason why you failed and whether this is a defence.

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