Olive Lycourgou
View LinkedIn profile
Olive is a specialist criminal defence barrister with over 25 years’ experience. The experience and knowledge gathered over Olive’s career at the bar, covers all types of criminal cases, defending serious allegations of a sexual nature, drugs, fraud, robbery and serious violence.
Olive pays particular attention to client care. She has represented people from all walks of life whether they be individuals who have been in and out of the criminal justice system to others who have never been in trouble before and find themselves in an environment that is alien to them. Olive has represented people from the medical profession, teachers, members of the police and armed forces and the physically and mentally vulnerable. Her calm and effective manner in dealing with challenging situations where clients have mental health issues has proven to be invaluable in serious and sensitive cases.
Olive’s experience ranges from cross examining young children in sex cases, vulnerable adults to expert witnesses. Olive has successfully cross-examined prosecution experts in highly technical cases in a way that enables the jury to understand the process being explored.
Inquests
Olive also has experience in advising and appearing at Inquest hearings. She has also been instructed by the Metropolitan Police in a number of cases including Inquests into the death of individuals killed in the course of a police emergency call out and advised bodies within the MET in respect of action before proposed judicial review proceedings.
Private Prosecutions
Although Olive is predominantly a defence advocate, she has also prosecuted on behalf of the RSPCA and local councils.
Recent Cases
- R v A & others
Successfully defended a conspiracy to supply class A drugs, where the defendants were accused of being linked to a significant drugs line. The prosecution produced months of mobile phone colocation evidence linking the defendant’s phones to the drugs line. Olive successfully made a half time submission of no case to answer on behalf of her client and the jury were directed to find the defendant not guilty of all charges.
- R v J
Successfully defended a man charged with attempted rape.
The defendant had been released from his sentence of imprisonment for a rape conviction. He then proceeded to breach the conditions of his licence by violating the terms of his curfew and going out in the evening. A friend had invited him to an unknown female’s flat, the complainant in this case. An amount of alcohol was had by all the parties and some drugs were taken. The Judge allowed the prosecution to put before the jury the defendant’s conviction of rape and his licence conditions. Despite this, the jury found him not guilty of attempted rape.
- R v M & others
Successfully defended a “third strike drugs offender” in a cut throat drugs case where the Judge allowed the defendant’s previous convictions for drugs supply to go before the jury.
- R v S
Successfully defended a vulnerable male with learning difficulties of raping his ex-girlfriend.
- R v M
Successfully defended a Mental Health Professional of raping his wife. Set against a background of divorce proceedings in the civil courts.
Historic Cases
- R v C
Successfully defended a Senior Radiologist accused of damaging life saving equipment at Kings College Hospital. The defendant had held a prestigious position at the hospital as he had been pivotal in the introduction of the PET scanner at the hospital. The case involved complicated technical cross examination of prosecution witnesses namely radiologists who were previous colleagues of the defendant.
- R v G
Successfully defended a teacher of sexual assault on one of his female pupils.
- R v H & Others
Successfully defended a serving police officer of assisting in the illegal entry of a Brazilian National.
- R v R & Others
Successfully defended a young man of being involved as part of a group of males in raping two teenage girls.
- R v S & Others
Successfully defended D1 (S) of a conspiracy to kidnap, threats to kill and possession of a firearm. The prosecution relied on colocation evidence to link all the defendants in the same area at the time of the allegations.
- R v H
Successfully defended a vulnerable male with Asperger’s and learning difficulties of sexual activity on a 9-year-old boy.
- R v S
Successfully defended a single mother working as a full-time carer, of 10 counts of tax benefit fraud.
- R v C & Others
Successfully defended a law student of robbery in a cut throat case where D1 implicated C. D1 was convicted.
Public Access Cases
Olive is qualified to accept cases through the public access scheme. Each case will be assessed to ensure that is in the clients best interest to undertake the case in this way.