Duncan Phillips

Biography

Duncan completed his law degree at the University of Sheffield and then the legal practice course at Nottingham Law School.

Duncan qualified as a solicitor in 2002 and has worked exclusively in criminal litigation ever since. His time is now divided between the Crown Court, Magistrates Court and police station representation, often dealing with cases from beginning to end.

Duncan was recognised as a ‘next generation partner’ in the 2026 edition of The Legal 500. 

Crown Court

Duncan is a solicitor advocate and holds a Higher Courts (Criminal Advocacy) qualification. He is regularly instructed to represent clients in the Crown Court throughout the North West and beyond. He frequently deals with cases of robbery, serious assaults (s.18 and s.20 grievous bodily harm and wounding), drug cases (including drug conspiracies and drug productions), fraud (including benefit fraud), firearms offences, theft (including breach of trust cases), and sexual offences.

Magistrates Court

Duncan has many years of experience of successfully representing clients in the Magistrates Court. He has been a member of the Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme since 2003. As well as representing clients charged or summonsed with criminal offences. Duncan also acts for clients responding to applications for Orders (for example DVPO, CBO or football banning orders).

Police Station

Even the most serious cases are often won or lost at the police station. Duncan provides high quality advice and representation to people being interviewed either under arrest or as a volunteer and helps people who are required to answer bail or participate in identification procedure including VIPER. Duncan is a supervising solicitor, helping to train police station representatives.

What clients say

"Duncan is a consummate professional and was a pillar of support right from day one. I was falsely accused of assault and I was mentally and emotionally reeling. His quiet composure was honestly like a life-vest to a drowning man. As a client, I was always met with reassurance and he explained things clearly at every stage. When I was being interviewed by the Police, he faced them down with masterful knowledge of the law and steely sang-froid. He and his team kept me up to date all the time, and they were always there when I had questions. When he spoke for me in court, it was with such eloquent confidence that even the case-hardened Magistrates clearly doubted the words of my accusers. He found and instructed an outstanding barrister and together they built a solid defence case. So good in fact that, in the end, it persuaded the CPS to give up and offer no evidence. So I was cleared of the charge and spared the ordeal of a trial. Their tireless work allowed the truth to prevail and saved an innocent man from going to prison. I cannot thank Duncan and his team enough and would highly recommend him to anyone." View from a client

"I cannot recommend Duncan Phillips enough from the criminal litigation department. This mans knowledge of the law is outstanding and his attention to detail is second to none. From start to finish Duncan has been very informative, made me fully aware of all outcomes and gave me strong advice throughout. I didn’t just feel like a client and he was doing his job, he listened to my every concern and was on hand for any question I had. I cannot thank him enough for the outcome of my case and if I ever find myself needing legal help again, I will not hesitate to use Duncan." View from a client

"We would highly recommend the excellent service provided to us by both Andrea woods and Duncan Phillips recently. From our first meeting with Andrea, who we found to be very helpful and efficient, and went above and beyond expectations to keep us informed at every stage, to our final meeting with Duncan who enabled us to achieve a fantastic outcome, we really can't thank you enough! I am so glad we chose Stephenson solicitors, and would not hesitate to use them again for any representation. Exceptional service, also thank you to Faye for all her help and time given throughout!" - View from a client

"Brilliant experience. Had a solicitor named Duncan Phillips who gave me great advice and got me out of hard situation that I had been stressed over." - View from a client