A chat with Catherine Gaynor, head of criminal law at LEAP: From 24/7 defence work to smarter legal technology for criminal law firms
With extensive experience as a criminal defence lawyer, Catherine Gaynor brings deep practical insight to her role as Head of Criminal Law at LEAP. Having worked at the sharp end of criminal practice, she understands the relentless pressures criminal law firms face — long hours, on-call demands, heavy compliance requirements and high-volume caseloads.
At LEAP, Catherine focuses on developing and championing technology that genuinely supports criminal lawyers, helping them streamline administrative processes, reduce stress and reclaim valuable time. In this interview, she shares her perspective on the realities of criminal law practice, the transformative role of AI, and why technology like LEAP is uniquely placed to support criminal law firms now and into the future.
What is your role at LEAP Legal Software, and what makes it most interesting for you?
I joined LEAP as the Head of Criminal Law in the UK, and the most interesting part of the job for me is helping to find creative solutions to the problems that so many other criminal lawyers and I would face in practice.
Having spent many years working as a criminal defence lawyer, I frequently encountered processes that needed to be streamlined, repetitive routine tasks that couldn’t be automated, and legacy systems designed for every other area of law, but not for Crime.
From experience, I know there isn’t a wide range of products designed to assist criminal lawyers with their work; however, this area of law could probably benefit most from a product such as LEAP, with all its AI features and Applications.
What are the biggest challenges facing criminal law firms today, and how is LEAP helping to solve them?
Crime is a 24/7, 365-day-a-year job.
There aren’t many industries in the modern world in which you would be required to work a full day of 9-5 (minimum) and then roll straight into an on-call shift, likely seeing you at the police station multiple times over the course of an evening, and then get up ready for your 9 – 5 again the next morning after a sleepless night. And there aren’t many industries where you may have to do those multiple times a week – and on weekends.
It wouldn’t be uncommon for criminal lawyers to pick up three cases over the course of a night on call. That’s three sets of files to open; three sets of client care letters and terms of business to send (each individually personalised with the advice given by the lawyer, hearing outcomes and next dates); potentially three sets of legal aid forms to complete; three sets of AML and conflict checks to complete – and that’s not to mention fielding sets of calls from concerned family members or clients (if released). And what if you were already scheduled to be in court the following day on another matter? Largely, the answer is, you just have to find the time. Often, that means more work out of court hours – and usually out of working hours – to get it done.
I am particularly passionate about helping lawyers streamline routine administrative processes, making these tasks less stressful and time-consuming, so that criminal lawyers can reclaim some of their time and headspace to focus on what they do best – advising their clients face-to-face.
LEAP’s criminal law software already offers some fantastic solutions for this, and my role is to help clients understand how to use these features to their full potential, while developing new products and features specifically aimed at tackling these issues. I won’t say too much on new products and features at this point, but I can’t wait for them to become available for our clients to use!
What are your key predictions for criminal law and legal technology in 2025 and beyond?
In my opinion, legal AI will revolutionise the way that criminal lawyers practice. As a self-confessed tech-phoebe before joining LEAP, it hasn’t taken long for me to be completely and utterly sold on the concept of Artificial Intelligence. I use it every day now – whether it’s for legal research or quickfire questions about where it’s best to get the train from.
It really only took me a couple of days of practising with LEAP’s AI to realise its potential to be an incredibly useful tool for lawyers. This is particularly true of Criminal Legal Aid work, which is high-volume, compliance-heavy, and often fixed-fee. That’s not to say that it isn’t equally useful to private crime, because it absolutely is – but with the existing processes within Legal Aid firms, it’s really a no-brainer.
What career advice would you give to a young lawyer starting out in criminal law?
Relax and trust your judgement! When you work in an area of law like Crime, where people are often going through some of the worst times of their lives, it is hard not to absorb your client’s stress or anxiety.
Sometimes, early on in my career, I was so worried about getting it right that I would start to doubt myself if a client did. Clients will often worry about whether they have done the right thing in following your advice, especially when the stakes are high. To a degree, I think this just comes with experience – seeing how cases progress in line with your advice, your confidence grows, and you become better at managing a client’s expectations.
I learned quite quickly that even though clients often wanted to confide in you about their struggles and emotions, they haven’t come to you because they need a friend – they have come to you because they need a lawyer. They need you to remain calm and unwavering, especially when they are panicking. Lawyers aren’t usually just dealing with one case at a time, and if you start to take on a client’s anxiety or doubts and then multiply that by however many cases you have in your caseload, you will quickly burn out.
What inspired you to pursue a career in criminal law?
I was always going to work in crime. I always wanted to be a prosecutor – or so I thought – but accepted a role at a local defence firm in the first instance, straight out of university, as I recall that the CPS weren’t recruiting at that time. From that time, I remember naively thinking that I wanted to be on the side of the good guys, but I guessed it would be beneficial to experience the criminal justice system from both sides and transition into prosecution work as soon as possible.
I ended up loving defence work more than I anticipated, so I lost any desire to move away. It was fascinating to be in the room with defendants in such interesting cases, and I loved hearing the case against them, only to hear their instructions and find out things were rarely as they seemed.
I am incredibly fortunate that my career allowed me to try my hand at private prosecution work much later. In fact, for many years of my defence career, I represented police officers accused of criminal and misconduct offences. I loved acting for police officers, who had largely dedicated their lives to serving their communities. Usually, I found that they were trying to do the right thing, but perhaps made a mistake or an error of judgment along the way. Working with the police was always of interest to me and part of the reason why I was inclined to prosecute, so I suppose my career took me over that path, just in a very different way than I thought!
What has been your proudest professional achievement so far?
I have always wanted to work on a case of significant national importance, and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on several of them over the years of my practice. It wouldn’t be appropriate to name them, but there are at least three that stick in my mind that I will never forget working on, and I am so very grateful I had the opportunity to do so.
I’m sure a part of me will always miss representing clients, but I have to say that I was particularly drawn to my new role because of LEAP’s dedication to ‘helping lawyers who help people’. I have always considered myself to be relatively creative, and I am particularly proud of some of the products we are working on behind the scenes, which I think will really help criminal lawyers in their day-to-day practice.
The conversation continues: More criminal law insights coming soon
With years of experience on the front line of criminal defence and shaping innovative solutions at LEAP, Catherine’s focus remains on helping criminal law firms work more efficiently without compromising client care. As the demands on criminal lawyers continue to intensify, modern criminal law practices are now more in need than ever for smarter, more supportive legal technology. This conversation is just the beginning. Watch this space for more expert perspectives from LEAP.
About the author
With 10 years of experience in the communications industry, Dani Pisciottano is the Vertical Marketing Lead at LEAP Legal Software, responsible for shaping and delivering marketing strategies across key areas of law, including criminal, family, estates and personal injury.
