In 1978, when a student at King's College, London, Brian was persuaded by a friend  to try his hand at mooting. He agreed. He made his way through the rounds and reached the final. There, his performance was judged by the Hon. Mr. Justice Robert Goff. It went well and the rest, as they say, is history.

He joined Inner Temple while still a student and was called to the Bar a year after graduating. He spent the first years of his career as a General Common Lawyer, appearing regularly in Family, Personal Injury and Landlord and Tenant cases, as well as in the Criminal courts. After 10 years or so honing his skills and learning how to deal with people from all walks of life he chose to specialise in Criminal Law. Professionally, the courtroom is where he feels most at ease and crime gives him that opportunity more than any other.

His extensive experience in all areas of the Criminal Law, including murder, manslaughter, other violent crime, serious sexual offences, drug-related offending, money-laundering and fraud has led to him being instructed as leading counsel in many cases heard at several Crown Courts including the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey), Southwark, Guildford, Lewes, Isleworth and Harrow.

Though based in London and the South East, he is happy to travel and has conducted cases in Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham, Liverpool, Leicester, Manchester, Carlisle and Taunton.

He is well-known for his ability to deal with clients in a sensitive and understanding way but those who know and have worked with him have seen a firm, no-nonsense approach when the situation required it.

Away from work he is a family man but also a sports fanatic with a particularly keen interest in rugby, soccer, cricket and golf – playing the latter whenever he can. He is a member of Guildford Golf Club and the Bar Golfing Society. For his sins he has supported Middlesbrough FC and Yorkshire County Cricket Club all his life.

Brian Stork is accredited by the Bar Council to provide Public Access services

Significant cases

R –v- Joanne Smith (Central Criminal Court) - Murder
Profoundly deaf defendant and witnesses; sign language interpreters.
The jury was discharged and a re-trial ordered after a crucial mistake was made by a tired interpreter. This led to a complete change in the procedures adopted when sign language interpreters are required in court for significant periods.

R –v- William Gardener (Snaresbrook Crown Court)
Probably the most important ‘football hooligan’ trial of the 1980s.
Its collapse (after the third of eleven defendants had given evidence) led to several other similar trials collapsing. The previously recorded convictions of a number of other defendants were quashed in the Court of Appeal. The way in which undercover surveillance officers initially record their evidence has changed dramatically as a result of this case.

R –v- Churchill (Wood Green Crown Court and the Court of Appeal)
Criticism of the trial judge for the way he answered a jury question about the reasons for a witness failing to testify in circumstances where her statement had been read to the jury pursuant to the provisions laid down in the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

Poll Tax Riots (Southwark Crown Court)
Instructed in a number of cases concerning the ‘Trafalgar Square poll tax riots’ of 1990.

R –v- Joseph Curtin (Central Criminal Court and the Court of Appeal) – Murder
Successful appeal against conviction in which the trial judge had failed adequately to sum up the Defendant’s case in circumstances where the Defendant set out his defence in interview but chose not to testify. The Court of Appeal also considered defence counsel’s responsibility to draw the judge’s attention to his error before the jury retired to consider its verdict.

R –v- R (Guildford Crown Court) – Sexual Assault
Testing the competence of very young child witnesses; in this case one aged just three at the time of the incident and four by the date of trial.

R –v- Burton (Sheffield Crown Court) – Sexual grooming and perverting the course of public justice
A nationally reported case in which the client was a serving police officer.

R -v- Balicao (Oxford Crown Court) – Rape
Another nationally reported case. This time the client was a male staff nurse accused of raping a 16 year old overdose patient in a lavatory on the ward in which he was the nurse responsible for her care.