The Importance of Client Care

Reflections on a Career: The Central Role of Client Care

Anne-Marie Nicholls draws upon over two decades in the legal profession to emphasise that client care is at the heart of meaningful legal practice. Her journey began in 2002 when she qualified as a solicitor and initially specialised in criminal defence. She later embarked on an enriching period with the Crown Prosecution Service, spending seven years as a specialist prosecutor in the Rape and Sexual Offences Unit (RASSO), where she handled complex cases such as Child Sexual Exploitation, Historic Sexual Abuse, and offences involving indecent images. Anne-Marie also served as Area Lead for Domestic Violence cases for a decade and has been involved in pre-charge decision making since 2006, accumulating 20 years of experience in pre-charge advice and preparation.  

Throughout Anne-Marie’s career she has realised that legal expertise alone is not enough. Genuine client care, which includes empathy, understanding, and steadfast support, can profoundly influence outcomes and help clients navigate the most difficult moments.  

In this blog, she reflects on how her experiences have shaped her approach and why prioritising client care remains essential within the profession. 

Anne-Marie comments: 

Defending a client in a case involving criminal allegations is not just about being able to advise on the law; it is so much more than that.  

The client facing possibly the worst ordeal of their life is going to need everything available to them from a practitioner to help them through the process. There is the potential loss of liberty, of course, but there is also potential loss of reputation, career, family, income and stability all of which can hugely impact on the client’s mental health and ability to respond to the allegations. 

As a newly qualified solicitor in 2003 I learned a very valuable lesson. I had dealt with many legal aid cases at the police station having already achieved accreditation a few years earlier.  However, I had never dealt with an immigration case.  

A client being held on an immigration matter at Blackburn Police Station was asking for a lawyer to represent him. I was given a textbook on immigration law and shoved out the door as I was needed as soon as possible; the client was going to be deported. 

I went prepared for a fight. The client was a man of good character who had come to the UK on a student visa, qualified in his field and was then employed in IT. He paid his taxes and had a promising and lucrative career ahead of him. What I didn’t know was that he had also reached the end of his appeal process and all I could do for him was to hold his hand until he was put on board a plane back to Belarus to face the possibility of the most extreme of outcomes.  

I remember the feeling of complete helplessness and disappointment that the process had been completed, and his application had failed with no further recourse against deportation. I could not be of any use to him. 

Long before social media that client found me again and we have made contact intermittently over the years. What happened at the police station was never mentioned until recently. I expressed my frustration at being unable to help him and he told me that he knew and had never forgotten me for it. That long ago meeting had affected me as much as him and at a significant stage in my career which I hope has been focusing on being able to help when needed. 

So, what did I learn from that client?  

I think that empathy and understanding is an integral part of the role; that holding someone’s hand throughout the ordeal is as important as the required standard of expertise and can never be underestimated. 

After many more years as a criminal practitioner and coming back into defence I know that the most important development is the relationship between the client and the lawyer. Having confidence in one’s ability to help and a belief that one can make a difference; even though the outcome is not always the desired one. 

Clients can also be victims of a crime 

There appears to be a concerning trend by complainants to utilise an overburdened system for their own purposes. The ruination of someone’s life can hang on the edge of a marginal decision.  

How Olliers prevented prosecution in a pre-charge rape allegation 

A recent case involved allegations of rape made in the summer of 2024. This was a difficult case in that the two parties were not personally connected and known to each other in a distant professional capacity. The motive for the allegation being made is therefore unknown and can only be surmised. The two parties met at a networking event and spent the evening socialising at a series of different bars in the locality which ended up at the complainant’s hotel room. Some sexual activity took place which the client empathically and consistently maintained, was consensual. 

However, the complainant gave a detailed account to the police of overbearing behaviour from the client which escalated to the point that he raped her in her hotel room. We provided the police with a full break down of the evening and how the client’s account could be corroborated by CCTV footage, uber transportation, train information and possible witnesses. The client’s account was unchanged throughout the course of a very thorough investigation and the police ultimately accepted that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction.  

How proactive pre-charge engagment can lead to no further action 

Another case, a similar situation, involved allegations of rape and assault by penetration. The client, a serving police officer met the complainant on a dating website and after a lot of positive communication they set a date and the client agreed to collect the complainant from her home. The date went as well as could be expected concluding in the complainant inviting the client home at the end of the evening. Sexual activity took place which the client maintained was consensual. That there was CCTV footage available at the location of their date and outside the home of the complainant was pointed out early in the investigation. This and other details of the client’s account were put to the police as reasonable lines of enquiries for them to pursue.  

In both cases a decision of No Further Action was reached with the latter case going to the CPS for a decision. Both clients’ accounts were that the allegations against them were false and we believe that we provided sufficient corroboration of their accounts to impact the decision making. Although the outcome was the correct one, the loss to the client is still substantial in personal, professional and financial terms. 

The importance of pre-charge engagement 

At pre-charge stage the defence is not entitled to find out what information we provide to the prosecution that makes the difference, but for me the devil is in the detail. I know when I was a prosecutor and the one making the charging decision, I would have appreciated knowing everything that I could about those involved in the case. There may be some seemingly insignificant detail that can be the deciding factor against charge or that can persuade a better-informed court to a more just or lenient outcome.  

I do recognise that I am in a privileged position having the time and support within my professional environment to attempt the best outcome for the client.  

The client in Blackburn police station 22 years ago told me that he recognised willingness to assist, empathy and disappointment; that I had done my best and that he was glad that I was the last Brit to say goodbye to him.  

I thought my presence had been futile as he was deported. He taught me otherwise.  

Olliers’ client care accreditation 

Recognising the importance of client care, we launched the Olliers Client Care Accreditation in September 2025 to formalise our commitment to high standards. Each lawyer underwent 12 hours of training before a two-part exam to earn accreditation in client care. Training covered effective communication, managing client expectations, Lexcel compliance, and proactive service. 

Olliers Solicitors – specialist criminal defence law firm 

Olliers Solicitors is nationally recognised as an outstanding criminal defence law firm – partnering legal brilliance with unmatched client care. 

We specialise in the defence of individuals, businesses and other organisations across a broad range of corporate and financial fraud crime, regulatory offences, serious crime, sexual offences, professional discipline and motoring offences. 

We have a formidable reputation for our pro-active approach to the investigative stage of a criminal case focusing on pre-charge engagement, discretion and nipping an investigation in the bud. 

Olliers is ranked as a top tier law firm by both the Legal 500 2026 and Chambers Guide 2026. They are a Times Best Law Firm 2026 and the Manchester Legal Awards 2025 Crime Team of the Year, an award we have won eight times since 2011.