After beginning his career at the Crown Prosecution Service in the mid 1990s, Nigel practised at the independent Bar in Manchester for 20 years before taking up a position at the University of Law’s Manchester campus in September 2020 tutoring criminal litigation, evidence and sentencing to trainee barristers. Six months later he was appointed as the Programme and Student Experience Lead for the Bar Practice Course at the University’s Liverpool and Manchester campuses.

Nigel practised from St Buildings in Manchester for a considerable time. Now he is in Chambers at 9 St John Street (just across the road and up a bit from his old place) where he retains his membership as an unregistered barrister whilst at the University.

His practice at the Bar was mainly prosecuting and defending criminal cases, particularly those involving sexual allegations and many about incidents that occurred a long time ago. He encourages the use of intermediaries and other measures to assist complainants and witnesses (and defendants, for whom the availability of measures is more limited). Often he dealt with witnesses who were children or whose issues with mental health would make a trial more of an ordeal. Nigel has been involved in training barristers in new court techniques to help the vulnerable feel more at ease in court. In February 2018 he defended in a case where the both complainant and defendant benefited from help provided by intermediaries.