About us

The Jeffrey Review was an independent review looking into how criminal defendants are given independent legal representation in the courts of England and Wales.


The review’s final report, Independent Criminal Advocacy in England and Wales, was published on 7 May 2014.

The Justice Secretary asked the Jeffrey Review to consider:

  • the future structure of the advocacy services profession
  • the experience, capabilities and skills needed for those services
  • the recommendations made by the Legal Education and Training Review about future training for advocates
  • the standards needed to maintain and improve the quality of a criminal advocacy service in England and Wales

Who we are

The review was led by Sir Bill Jeffrey, who met with the legal professional regulators, the judiciary and representative bodies of the respective legal professions. A reference group was established to inform the work of the review.

Sir Bill Jeffrey

Sir Bill Jeffrey served as Political Director, Northern Ireland Office from 1998 to 2002. He was Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator at the time of the attacks on London in July 2005 and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence from 2005 until his retirement in November 2010.

Corporate information

Jobs and contracts