Year of Call: 2000
Clerk: Nigel East
Owen specialises in criminal law. He is regularly instructed to appear for both the prosecution and the defence in cases involving homicide, serious violence, rape and serious sexual offences and large-scale drugs conspiracies.
For several years Legal 500 has ranked Owen as a Tier 1 practitioner and a Leading Junior. In the 2022 edition, Legal 500 commented “Owen has a grasp of the case very quickly and is able to communicate this in an effective way to the client and Court very effectively. No case is too problematic for Owen to resolve”.
In previous editions of the Legal 500 he has been "recommended for cases involving murder, serious sexual offences and gross negligence manslaughter".
Owen has also defended as Junior Counsel in many murder cases and Leading Junior Counsel in several attempted murder cases:
R v Garwood [2023] - Single punch murder/manslaughter,
R v Press [2023] - Fatal stabbing murder,
R v Smith [2022] - Murder – death caused by deliberate arson,
R v Parks [2022] - Strangulation murder in a familial setting,
R v White [2022] - Fatal stabbing murder,
R v Mehalla & 5 Others [2021] - Multi Defendant OCG murder,
R v Ibrahim [2021] - Attempted murder of a police officer,
R v Hassan & Legall [2020] - Attempted murder - pre-planned with shotgun & machete,
R v Burrell [2020] - Murder trial following earlier conviction for s.18 and subsequent death,
R v Symons & 7 Others [2020] - Multi Defendant (Adults & youths) fatal stabbing murder,
R v Jones & 3 Others [2019] - Multi Defendant (Adults & youths) fatal stabbing murder,
R v Ward and Baxter [2019] - Fatal stabbing murder,
R v Vaughan [2018] - Attempted murder in a domestic violence setting,
R v Paget [2018] - Pre-planned murder for financial gain,
R v Bingham and Saleh [2018] - Fatal stabbing murder,
R v Stevenson [2017] - Attempted murder - pre-planned for financial gain,
R v Jones [2017] - Attempted murder - Defendant with mental illness unable to form specific intent,
R v Trevelyan [2013] - Defence of diminished responsibility,
R v Rogers & 2 Others [2012] – Multi Defendant murder - Client with severe learning difficulties,
R v Lewis, Cooke and Ward [2008] – Multi Defendant murder,
R v Shaddick [2007] - Strangulation murder in a domestic violence setting
In 2019, Owen prosecuted as Leading Junior Counsel in the manslaughter case of R v Higgins.
In 2022, Owen defended as Junior Counsel in the case of R v Swain Scaffolding Ltd, a gross-negligence manslaughter prosecution arising from a fatal accident that occurred during the demolition of a church in in 2017.
In 2017, Owen defended as Junior Counsel in the case of R v Pike and Pike, a gross-negligence manslaughter prosecution arising from a fatal accident that occurred during the commercial activity of removing golf balls from golf course lakes in South Wales.
In 2014, Owen defended as Junior Counsel in the case of R v Malcolm Fyfield and MNS Mining Ltd, the gross-negligence manslaughter prosecution arising from the Gleision Colliery mining disaster of September 2011.
He is a Grade 4 prosecutor and is on the Specialist Panel for Prosecuting Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO).
Additionally, Owen has experience of prosecuting and defending in a wide range of cases brought by local authorities and government departments.
Owen is regularly instructed to deal with applications made pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act [2002].
Throughout his career he has prosecuted and defended in cases prosecuted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (formerly the Vehicle Inspectorate/Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) - appearing in the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court and the High Court. He has also represented parties at Traffic Commissioner public inquiries and has dealt with many animal welfare prosecutions in both the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court .
Owen was educated at Cardiff University and Cardiff Law School.
He is a member of the Criminal Bar Association.
Owen is a member of Neath Athletic RFC, Llanishen RFC and Crawshay’s Rugby Club. For several years he has coached mini and junior rugby at Llanishen RFC.
“Owen Williams is a balanced lawyer who has a charming manner with the court” – Chambers UK Bar 2012
“Sources describe him as an affable and user-friendly barrister" – Chambers UK Bar 2013
“Recommended for cases involving murder and serious sexual offences” – The Legal 500 2018
“Recommended for gross negligence manslaughter cases’ – The Legal 500 2019
“An all-round barrister able to deal with all types of serious case, who connects well with clients’’ – The Legal 500 2021.
“Owen has a grasp of the case very quickly and is able to communicate this in an effective way to the client and Court very effectively. No case is too problematic for Owen to resolve” – The Legal 500 2022.
