ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of criminal defence lawyers at the investigative stage in England and Wales and the Netherlands. The traditional image of the work of a criminal defence lawyer is trial-centred. Activities performed by lawyers at the pre-trial stages are viewed as the preparation for the trial. Consequently, the statement that ‘effective criminal defence’ takes place in court is being challenged. Most existing empirical literature on criminal defence lawyering originates from England and Wales. In England and Wales there has been growing interest in research on the professional practices of criminal defence. Mostly among law enforcement and government institutions, claimed that extending access to a lawyer to the investigative stage would hinder crime investigations, precluding criminals from receiving deserved punishment, and from victims receiving deserved justice. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
