Swansea01792 484566
Haverfordwest01437 766671
Newport01633 481220
Carmarthen01437 766671
Rhymney01685 840404

About Us

We are a legal firm with many years practical experience dealing with a vast range of different cases. We have a diverse team with a wealth of knowledge who will be able to assist you from the Police Station, Magistrates Court to the more serious Crown Court matters. We provide a continued and professional service committed to client care.

Directors

  • Stuart John photo

    Stuart John

    Stuart is a Director of the firm, he qualified as a solicitor and has practised solely in Criminal Defence work ever since. He is regarded as one of South Wales most experienced solicitors and has represented clients in all manner of cases in both Magistrates and Crown Court. Stuart is an experienced Crown Court advocate having gained rights of audience in 2006.

  • Daniel Griffiths photo

    Dan Griffiths

    Dan is a Director of Devonald Griffiths John and has specialised solely in Criminal Defence work since qualification in 2003, he has significant experience of dealing with large scale conspiracies, serious violence and sexual offences.

    Dan is a Higher Courts Advocate and appears regularly in both the Magistrates and Crown Court.




Swansea Office

  • Nick Devonald photo

    Nick Devonald (Solicitor)

    Nick was the Senior Director in the practice for many years, qualifying in London in 1992 and returning to Swansea in 1994. He retired in September 2023 but continues to work full time on a consultancy basis.

    He is a Duty Solicitor specialising in all Magistrates Court work and has in his almost 30 years of experience dealt with many high-profile cases including murder cases, drugs cases, large conspiracy and fraud cases.

  • Ian Hopkins photo

    Ian Hopkins (Solicitor)

    Ian qualified as a Solicitor in 1995, and is considered to be one of the foremost Magistrates Court defence solicitors in South Wales. He is knowledgeable, extremely diligent and specialises in all areas of Criminal Law.

  • Rachel Tucker photo

    Rachel Tucker (Solicitor/Prison Law Specialist)

    Rachel qualified as a Duty Solicitor in the beginning of 2020. She has excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

    Rachel is a Magistrates Court advocate dealing with both youth and adult clients for a range of criminal offences. She has extensive experience of Crown Court Case file preparation for varied offences including Murder.

    Rachel is also a Prison Law specialist dealing with independent adjudications, recalls and parole hearings.

  • Liam Francis photo

    Liam Francis (Solicitor)

    Liam is a qualified Duty Solicitor. He is friendly, approachable and reliable.

    Liam has experience in representing clients at the Police Station, Magistrates Court and in preparing Crown Court files. He is always professional, motivated and has great communication skills.

  • Fenn Richards (Solicitor/Prison Law Specialist)

    Fenn is a qualified solicitor as of December 2022. She has experience representing clients in both the police station and the Magistrates Court.

    Fenn also has experience with preparing Crown Court files for a variety of offences including serious sexual offences and murder.

    Fenn is also a Prison Law Specialist and has experience in dealing with recalls and Parole Board Hearings.

  • Madlen Davies (Trainee Solicitor)

    Madlen graduated from Cardiff University in 2022 where, alongside her LLB studies, she worked as a team leader on the Innocence Project assisting those wrongfully convicted through the Court of Appeal and Criminal Cases Review Commission process.

    Madlen is currently in the process of completing her PSRA Qualification in order to broaden her knowledge of Criminal Law. She is a fluent Welsh speaker and currently training to qualify as a Solicitor

  • James Bell (Trainee Solicitor)

    James graduated from Swansea University in 2022 and is currently training to qualify as a solicitor. He specialises in police station representation, case preparation for the Magistrates’ Court, and providing Crown Court assistance.

    James is recognised for being personable, detail-oriented, and hardworking, with a strong commitment to prioritising clients’ needs.

  • Liam Box (Trainee Solicitor)

    Liam graduated from Swansea University in 2024, where he completed both the LPC and his master’s degree. He is currently training to qualify as a Solicitor and is also in the process of completing the Police Station Representative Accreditation (PSRA) Qualification to further enhance his expertise in Criminal Law.

    Liam prides himself on being dedicated to addressing any matter that arises and is committed to supporting clients at all stages of the legal process.

  • Mike Spring (H M Spring Solicitors)

    Mike joined the DGJ team in October 2019 and was a much valued member of the team.

    He sadly passed away on the 5th September 2021.




Newport & Rhymney Office

  • Darren Bishop photo

    Darren Bishop (Solicitor Advocate)

    Darren qualified as a Solicitor Advocate in 2014 and frequently represents Clients for all types of criminal offences in the Police Station, Magistrates Court, Crown Court and Court of Appeal.

    Darren has a real passion for Criminal Law which has been evident in the results he has achieved for his Clients throughout his career. Through his commitment and determination he has achieved the position of Manager of our Newport office where he provides support and direction to the other fee earners and administration staff who are based there.

  • Stephen Ritter photo

    Stephen Ritter (Solicitor)

    An accredited higher rights advocate, Stephen has extensive experience working as a Criminal Defence Solicitor in South Wales for many years. He registered as Duty solicitor from pilot scheme in 1984. He undertakes all Legal Aid criminal work, including Murder cases and work from Magistrates Courts to the Criminal Court of Appeal.

    Stephen has dealt in Military cases involving Junior Soldiers to Court Martials of Lieutenant Colonels.

  • Lydia Williams photo

    Lydia Williams (Solicitor / Prison Law Specialist)

    Lydia specialises in prison law as our prison law supervisor representing clients for disciplinary, recall and Parole hearings. She is a qualified Duty Solicitor, accredited police station representative and also conducts the preparation for Crown Court cases.

    Lydia is conscientious in her work ethic and prides herself in her professional yet approachable manner when representing clients.

  • Peter Tarr photo

    Peter Tarr (Solicitor)

    Peter qualified as a Solicitor in September 2019 and obtained his duty qualification in March 2020.

    He is experienced in representing clients at both the police station and the Magistrates Court. Peter has had involvement in taking instructions and witness statements for a number of Crown Court Cases and is experienced in dealing with a wide variety of cases ranging from minor motoring offences to serious sexual offences.

  • Ross Williams (Solicitor)

    Ross qualified as a Solicitor in November 2023. He represents clients at the police station and magistrates court, and has involvement in preparing Crown Court matters.

    He is highly motivated, hardworking, approachable and always dedicated to providing an excellent service to our clients.




Haverfordwest Office (Layton & Co)

  • Tom Lloyd photo

    Tom Lloyd (Solicitor Advocate)

    Tom, a qualified Duty Solicitor and Solicitor Advocate runs the Haverfordwest Office. He is fluent in Welsh.

    Tom is approachable, personable, and always professional. Throughout his career he has dealt with wide variety of cases including murder, rape, terrorism, fraud and motoring offences. He believes proper preparation is the key to getting the best results.

  • Alaw Grug Harries (Trainee Solicitor)

    Alaw is a Police Station Representative and is currently training to qualify as a Solicitor. She frequently attends the Police Station to provide representation and assists with the preparation of matters in the Magistrates Court.

    Alaw prides herself in being approachable, hardworking and a great communicator. She is a fluent Welsh speaker.




Carmarthen Office

  • David Williams (Consultant Solicitor)

    David joined us as a Consultant Solicitor from Red Kite Solicitors in May 2021. He brings with him a wealth of experience of a broad range of cases, from simple Magistrates Court matters to the most complex Crown Court cases.

    David has extensive experience of representing drivers and operators at Public Inquiries held by the Traffic Commissioner. He is a very respected member of the profession, always diligent, friendly and a very valued member of our team.