Police-station call-out, 24 hours, 365 days a year 07813 091001
Cardiff, Roath · since 2005 · criminal defence only

Cardiff's criminal-defence solicitors, since 2005.

Twenty years on Albany Road in Roath. Founded and run by Neil Evans, with Stephanie Evans as Solicitor and Practice Manager. We answer the phone at three in the morning because most arrests happen at three in the morning, and the first interview decides almost everything that follows. Higher Rights of Audience, qualified Duty Solicitor, Law Society Criminal Litigation accreditation, Lexcel 2025.

SRA regulated Authority no. 440116
Law Society Criminal Litigation accreditation
Lexcel 2025 Law Society practice-management standard
Three Best Rated Cardiff criminal defence, every year since 2018
Evans and Co Solicitors, 64 Albany Road, Cardiff, exterior of the building
64 Albany Road, Roath · CF24 3RR First-floor offices, twenty years in the same building.
21 years on Albany Road
24/7 police-station call-out, 365 days
Top 3 Cardiff criminal defence, every year since 2018
2 named solicitors, no handovers
What we do

Four lines of criminal work. One firm. Same solicitor from the call to the courtroom.

A criminal-only practice covering everything from a 2 a.m. arrest through to a Court of Appeal hearing. Where most generalist firms refer the harder files out, this is the firm they refer them to.

24/7 police-station representation

A free, 24-hour, 365-day call-out service to any police station within reach. The number 07813 091001 answers in the middle of the night because most arrests happen between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Police-station work is the foundation of the practice: how a case is handled in the first interview decides almost everything that follows.

Magistrates' and Crown Court advocacy

Neil Evans holds Higher Rights of Audience, which means he conducts his own advocacy in both courts rather than handing the file to a separate barrister. Sentencing, trial, breach proceedings, bail applications. The client deals with the same solicitor from the first interview to the courtroom, with no handover at the door of the Crown Court.

Specialist criminal work

White-collar fraud and money laundering. Historic abuse allegations. Sexual offences. Serious motoring (death by dangerous driving, drink driving, disqualification appeals). Drug supply and possession. Theft and burglary. Trading-standards and DWP prosecutions. Proceeds of Crime confiscation work. The kind of file most generalist firms refer on.

Appeals and Criminal Injuries Compensation

Appeals against conviction or sentence, including Court of Appeal work. Criminal Injuries Compensation claims for victims, handled on a basis that lets clients keep 100 per cent of the compensation awarded by the CICA. The same firm that defends accused clients also acts for the wrongly hurt.

Twenty years on Albany Road

2005, Neil Evans opens a one-solicitor criminal practice at 64 Albany Road.

Neil qualified as a solicitor in 1993 and spent his early career at one of Cardiff's largest law firms, working across civil litigation, personal injury and criminal defence. By 2005 he wanted to do the work he wanted to do himself, not alongside other workloads, so he opened Evans & Co on Albany Road. The firm has taken only criminal work from the first day.

In 2007, Stephanie Evans joined as Solicitor and Practice Manager, qualified seven years earlier. The firm has stayed deliberately small. Two named solicitors, one focus, one office, twenty years. The same number answers the police-station phone now that answered it in 2005.

You are the voice for no voices. From a client testimonial, /client-testimonials
The specialism, in detail

What "criminal defence specialist" actually means at Evans & Co.

01

Higher Rights of Audience

Neil Evans holds the senior advocacy ticket that lets a solicitor conduct trials in the Crown Court. Most high-street criminal firms instruct a barrister at this point. Holding Higher Rights means the same solicitor who took your first interview at the police station stands up at your trial. Continuity, and a different fee structure.

02

Duty Solicitor scheme

Neil is a qualified Duty Solicitor, the formal Legal Aid Agency role that lets him cover the rota at Cardiff's police stations and the Magistrates' Court. This is the scheme one client describes in his testimonial as "outstandingly reassuring given the very traumatic experience". The duty role is what makes the free 24-hour call-out possible at no cost to the client.

03

Lexcel 2025 plus Criminal Litigation accreditation

Two Law Society standards held simultaneously. Lexcel is a practice-management standard covering file management, supervision and complaints handling. The Criminal Litigation accreditation is a senior competency standard for criminal-defence solicitors. Few two-solicitor firms in Cardiff currently hold both.

Lexcel 2025 accreditation logo, Law Society practice-management standard
Lexcel 2025
Law Society Accreditation for Criminal Litigation
Law Society Accreditation · Criminal Litigation
Accreditations on file

The badges that distinguish a senior criminal defence firm.

These are not website decorations. Lexcel is an audited practice-management standard and the Criminal Litigation accreditation is a senior-grade competency standard. Both have to be renewed.

The two of us

Two named solicitors. The file never moves to someone you have not met.

The firm has been deliberately kept to two solicitors so the person who answers your first call at the police station is the person who stands up for you in court. No team of paralegals, no rotating face on the file.

You genuinely believed I was innocent and fought my cause. Anonymous client, on a case proved at trial
Neil Evans, founding solicitor at Evans & Co
Neil Evans Founding solicitor, Duty Solicitor, Higher Rights of Audience Qualified 1993. Founded Evans & Co in 2005.
Stephanie Evans, Solicitor and Practice Manager at Evans & Co
Stephanie Evans Solicitor and Practice Manager Qualified 2000. Joined the firm in 2007.
Find us

64 Albany Road, Roath

1st and 2nd Floors
64 Albany Road
Roath, Cardiff
CF24 3RR

Office 02920 480054

Email info@evansandco.org.uk

Parking on-street, Albany Road and side-streets

Bus the Albany Road stops are immediately outside, two minutes from the City Road junction

When we answer

Two numbers. One opens daytime. One opens any time.

Office 02920 480054 Monday to Friday, working hours
Police-station call-out 07813 091001 24 hours, 365 days a year
Saturday and Sunday Office closed. Call-out number still answers.

The 24-hour line is the working number. If you have been told you are going to be interviewed, or you are with someone who has been arrested, that is the line that picks up. There is no charge for police-station advice on this number.

Tap to call the 24-hour line
Send an enquiry

Tell us briefly what has happened. We come back the same working day.

If the matter is urgent, ring the 24-hour number rather than waiting on email. For everything that is not time-critical, this form goes straight to Stephanie in the office, who will route it.

  • Reply by close of the same working day for non-urgent enquiries.
  • Urgent matters: call 07813 091001 at any time.
  • Initial conversations are confidential and free of charge.

Enquiry

By sending this enquiry you agree we may store it for the purpose of replying. Nothing here forms a retainer; that only happens after a written engagement letter.

Frequently asked

Five questions worth answering before you ring.

What happens if the police want to question me?

Phone the 24-hour number on 07813 091001 before you agree to interview. A solicitor from the firm attends the police station at no charge to you under the duty solicitor scheme, sits in on the interview, and advises before, during and after. If you cannot get hold of us, ask the custody sergeant to ring Evans & Co; they have the number.

Will I have to pay anything? How does Legal Aid actually work?

Police-station advice is free. For court work, Legal Aid is means-tested and depends on income, dependants and the seriousness of the offence; the firm holds a Criminal Legal Aid contract with the Legal Aid Agency. We tell you on day one whether you are likely to qualify, and if you are not, we quote the work privately at fixed stages. No hourly billing surprises.

Do you handle my kind of case?

The firm is criminal only. Motoring offences from speeding through to death by dangerous driving. Theft, burglary, violence. White-collar fraud and money laundering. Historic abuse, sexual offences, drug supply, POCA confiscation. Trading-standards and DWP prosecutions. Appeals from Magistrates' through to the Court of Appeal. If your case is criminal, we have probably done one shaped like it.

Will the same solicitor stay with me from the police station to court?

Yes, in the great majority of cases. Neil holds Higher Rights of Audience and conducts his own Crown Court advocacy, so the solicitor at your first interview is the solicitor in your trial. Where a hearing clashes, the firm covers internally so the file does not move to a separate barrister you have never met.

How do I get to 64 Albany Road, and when are you in the office?

Albany Road is in Roath, ten minutes by car from Cardiff Crown Court and a short walk from the City Road junction. There is on-street parking and a Cardiff Bus stop on the corner. The office answers on 02920 480054 during the working day; the 24-hour police-station number 07813 091001 answers any time, every day of the year.