R v E - Winchester Crown Court (2025)
Secured the acquittal of a defendant charged with common assault and weapons offences.
Miranda is developing a practice across Chambers’ main areas of expertise, with a particular focus on crime, public law and extradition.
Prior to joining Chambers, Miranda worked at a rape crisis centre and in the women’s justice team at APPEAL. She also completed an internship at the Capital Appeals Project, a Louisiana law firm providing representation to people on death row.
Miranda was recently seconded to a law firm in order to assist with case preparation for a high-profile espionage trial. The trial will be the first prosecution under the National Security Act 2023.
Miranda regularly prosecutes and defends in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. She has acted in cases involving a range of offences including grievous bodily harm, robbery, fraud, drugs supply, possession of an offensive weapon and public disorder.
Miranda has defended in multiple trials arising from protest-related activity and has a particular interest in this area of work.
Current instructions include: defending in a multi-handed drugs trial involving complex issues around modern slavery, prosecuting a defendant charged with s.18 GBH, and defending in a six-handed affray trial arising from an incident at a football match.
Secured the acquittal of a defendant charged with common assault and weapons offences.
Secured the acquittal of a defendant charged with theft. The defendant was alleged to have stolen items from a memorial to a murdered teenager. Successfully argued that his undiagnosed PTSD had caused him to act impulsively as opposed to dishonestly.
Represented a defendant charged with robbery. Successfully applied to discharge the jury midway through the trial due to significant disclosure failings. Persuaded the prosecution to accept a plea to shoplifting. The defendant was sentenced to time served.
Represented a defendant charged with robbery. The charge was dropped by the prosecution following the service of detailed expert evidence.
Miranda is routinely instructed in POCA matters, including cash and account forfeiture applications. She has also been instructed in production order proceedings, including applications to the Crown Court to vary and discharge production orders.
During pupillage, Miranda assisted another member of Chambers in advising a law firm as to its obligations under POCA. She also gained experience in the preparation of a case involving alleged breaches of sanctions regulations.
Successfully secured the forfeiture of over £100,000 that had been obtained through fraud and money laundering. The hearing lasted for two days and involved cross-examination of five interested parties. The interested parties were alleged to have set up fake businesses in order to defraud a matched funding scheme designed to support female entrepreneurs.
Miranda is frequently instructed by the Metropolitan Police Service in applications for civil preventative orders, including Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, Sexual Risk Orders, Closure Orders and Gang Injunctions. She has also acted for respondents in similar applications. She recently appeared in the Crown Court in a successful application to vary the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order that had been imposed following the respondent’s conviction for multiple child sex offences.
Miranda has delivered training to the Metropolitan Police Service in preparation for the new pilot scheme for Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs). She is currently instructed in what will be their first ever application for a DAPO.
Miranda regularly appears in extradition matters at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. She has acted in cases involving a range of requesting states including Hungary, Cyprus and the USA.
During pupillage, Miranda assisted other members of Chambers in preparing cases on behalf of both requested persons and requesting states. These included an extradition request brought by Albania in respect of an alleged “blood feud” murder, an extradition request brought by Romania that involved extensive legal argument about double jeopardy, and multiple appeals against extradition to the High Court.
Miranda has a developing public law practice. In 2024, she assisted another member of Chambers with a three-week inquest into a fatal shooting. The inquest involved submissions on the applicability of Article 2 and extensive legal argument about reporting restrictions.
Miranda has also assisted in the preparation of judicial review cases, including responding to an application for interim relief and drafting submissions on behalf of an interested party in the Court of Appeal.
Miranda acts for licensing authorities in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. She has appeared for Transport for London in licensing appeals at the Central Criminal Court.
Miranda is committed to pro bono work. She regularly provides free legal advice and representation as part of her practice. She has worked with a number of organisations, including Advocate and the Centre for Women’s Justice.
Miranda was named on the 2025 Pro Bono Recognition List. The list celebrates legal professionals in England and Wales who have dedicated at least 25 hours of their time to pro bono work.
Criminal Bar Association
Young Fraud Lawyers Association
Women in Criminal Law
Amicus
Defence Extradition Lawyers Forum
Extradition Lawyers Association
City University, BVS (2022)
City University, GDL (2021)
University of Oxford, BA Modern Languages (2018)
Scholarships and prizes:
During pupillage, Miranda was awarded the Gray’s Inn Senior Scholarship. This is their most prestigious award, reserved for “four pupils of exceptional merit.”
Atkin Scholarship, Gray’s Inn (2023)
Ann Goddard Scholarship, Gray’s Inn (2023)
Winner, Gray’s Inn GDL Moot (2021)
Finalist, European Court of Human Rights Moot (2021)
Headridge Scholarship, Gray’s Inn (2021)
Finalist, Human Rights Lawyers Association Moot (2020)
Dame Juliet Wheldon Scholarship, Gray’s Inn (2020)
Christ Church Award for Postgraduate Study (2018)
Crown Prosecution Service (General Crime) Level 1
Prior to joining Chambers, Miranda worked at a rape crisis centre and interned in the women’s justice team at APPEAL. She also completed an internship at the Capital Appeals Project, a Louisiana law firm providing representation to people on death row.
As a law student, Miranda volunteered as a pro bono representative in school exclusion cases and gave free legal advice via the charity IPSEA. She was also a member of the Human Rights Lawyers Association’s Young Lawyers Committee.
Before coming to the Bar, Miranda completed the Teach First Programme and spent two years working as a teacher in a secondary school.
I, Miranda Zeffman, am a data controller and can be contacted at 3 Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5BH or by telephone on 020 7400 6400 or by email at miranda.zeffman@3rblaw.com. My Data Protection Policy can be found here.
All personal data that I process is for the purposes of providing legal services, conducting conflict-checks, marketing, defending potential complaints, legal proceedings or fee disputes, keeping anti-money laundering records, training other barristers and pupils and when providing work-shadowing opportunities, and/or exercising a right to a lien. The types of data I process vary upon the nature of the legal matter in relation to which I am engaged to advise, but can include names, contact details, biographic details and ‘special category personal data’ (such as details of racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, health, sex life and criminal convictions and proceedings).
Depending upon the circumstances of the case, the legal bases upon which I process personal data are (i) the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract, (ii) the processing is necessary to comply with legal obligations to which I am subject, or (iii) the processing is necessary for the legitimate interests set out above, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subjects which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child. When I rely on (iii) legitimate interests, my ‘Legitimate Interests Assessment’ can be found here. When I process data which has not been obtained directly from the data subject (e.g. personal data contained in evidential materials), it will have been supplied to me as part of my instructions in circumstances covered by legal professional privilege.
Depending upon the circumstances of the case, I may share the personal data with:
I retain personal data for no longer than 7 years after the case has come to an end or as otherwise required by law.
I do not intend to transfer data to any country which is not either within the European Union, or otherwise permitted by UK data protection legislation.
Under the UK GDPR, data subjects whose personal data I process have the right to request from me access to, and rectification or erasure of, their personal data, the right to the restriction of processing concerning them, the right to object to processing as well as the right to data portability. Data subjects also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).
In cases where there is a contract between me and the data subject, the provision of personal data is a contractual requirement and the data subject is obliged to provide the personal data in order that I can supply legal services. A failure to provide such data may mean that I will not be able to provide those legal services.
Rev 2.1 30.09.2024
| Address | 3 Raymond Buildings, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5BH |
|---|---|
| DX | 237 LDE |
| Opening hours | 08:30 – 18:30 |
| Telephone | +44 (0)20 7400 6400 |
|---|---|
| clerks@3rblaw.com | |
| Senior clerk | Miranda Zeffman |
