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Vanessa Pople

Partner, Solicitor

Vanessa grew up in Somerset before moving to Bristol to study Law at University. She graduated with a first-class honours degree, qualified as a Solicitor at Allen Hoole and was later promoted to ‘Partner’ in 2021.

Vanessa routinely defends clients in Police Stations and Magistrates Courts throughout the South West region. She is requested personally by name and has experience in defending clients facing all types of allegations. This ranges from low level offences such as thefts and motoring offences through to more serious matters including Murder, Assault, Sexual offences and Fraud across both venues. She has developed a specialism in domestic matters, particularly ‘victimless’ prosecutions.

Vanessa is proactive in keeping client’s up to date with their case and easy to contact. She has a calm, friendly approach and is described as being “very supportive and understanding, especially concerning additional needs and communication preferences”. – HR, Feb 2025

Vanessa is passionate about her work and competitive in nature. She thrives on achieving the best possible outcome for clients and has an exceptional track record in respect of winning trials. She enjoys and certainly isn’t afraid of a ‘fight’.

Here is an example of what client’s think of Vanessa:

“Through sheer excellence and understanding of the procedures of justice, within a day, Vanessa gave me my hope, prospects and love for life back. I am as relieved as I am impressed, truly. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in such a situation, do yourself a favour and get in touch with Vanessa (Allen Hoole).” – TB January 2025

Notable cases:

  • R v H (2025) – Privately instructed to represent a client in Newton Abbot Magistrates Court. He pleaded guilty to two assaults (in a domestic context) and whilst the offences were aggravated by a number of features, putting him at risk of a high-level community order, he was sentenced to a financial penalty. No separate award for compensation or a restraining order were made.
  • R v E (2024) – The Defendant was charged with numerous offences including a Bomb hoax dated in July/August 2023. The allegations occurred after the client had been physically assaulted and sustained, in amongst other things, a Traumatic Brain Injury. An expert neurologist was instructed and after trial, the client was found not guilty of all allegations.
  • R v M (2023) – The Defendant was accused of having a dog dangerously out of control causing injury to another. Following extensive legal research, he trusted in Vanessa, entered a ‘not guilty’ plea and elected a Crown Court trial. The client later won his case avoiding a conviction, £3000+ in compensation and a contingent destruction order concerning his dog.
  • R v W (2022) – The Defendant was charged with endangering an aircraft. The client asserted that he believed the plane to be a UFO. The case was listed for trial and involved complex medical analysis and oral testimony. The client was acquitted after trial.
  • R v M (2017) – Representing a client accused of murder throughout the entire police investigation. The matter was later discontinued against the client.
  • R v N (2017) – Representing a client with complex mental health needs accused of assault and causing between £16,000 – £17,000 worth of criminal damage. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the client was given a conditional discharge and ordered not to pay any costs.
  • R v J (2012) – Successfully battling with the National Crime Agency to reduce a client’s legal aid contribution notice for lengthy crown court fraud proceedings from £80,000 to £0.