Lidia became a member of chambers in August 2023 following the successful completion of her pupillage at Drystone Chambers. During pupillage, Lidia prosecuted and defended before the Magistrates’ Court and the Crown Court. She has also prosecuted on behalf of Local Authorities and the Insolvency Service on a range of matters.
Of note, Lidia secured an acquittal in the Crown Court within 30 minutes. This was her first Crown Court trial. The trial was in front of the Resident Judge who complemented Lidia for her calmness and advocacy.
Lidia also persuaded the Crown Prosecution Service to drop charges against her client in a cultivation of Cannabis case, where the amount of Cannabis was over 100kg. The defendant’s case was that he had been trafficked to the UK and that he played no part in the cultivation of the Cannabis.
Lidia secured an acquittal in the Magistrates’ Court for a defendant who was accused of assaulting a care home resident. The allegation had been reported by another member of staff.
Prior to pupillage, Lidia worked for over 4 years as a Legal Adviser in the Magistrates’ Court. She has experience of the trial process from start to finish. Lidia assisted unrepresented defendants by conducting the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses, and the examination-in-chief of defence witnesses. She has experience of dealing with youths charged with robbery, section 18 and drug offences.
Previously, Lidia worked as a Probation Service Officer in the Magistrates’ Court. She interviewed vulnerable defendants suffering with mental health or substance misuse daily. She delivered at times 4 on the day pre-sentence reports.
Lidia completed an internship at the European Court of Human Rights where she drafted reports and decisions on cases where the applicant had been a victim of rape, convicted of bribery or drug trafficking. One of her draft decisions was put before the Third Section of the Court and it is now a published judgment (Toran and Schymik v Romania).
