Marcus Johnstone

Marcus Johnstone is a solicitor and managing director of PCD Solicitors.

An experienced criminal defence solicitor of over 20 years, Marcus began his legal career at Maidments in Manchester, before joining national criminal defence firm JMW Solicitors as its first head of prisons law in 2003. During this time, he specialised in advising clients accused or convicted of the most serious criminal offences, including organised crime, murder, and sexual offences like rape and sexual assault.

Marcus founded PCD Solicitors in 2020, and has since grown the firm into one of the country’s leading boutique criminal defence practices. As the firm’s senior solicitor, Marcus directs all ongoing cases and advises clients accused of the most serious sexual crimes, including rape, sexual assault, historic sexual offences, indecent images offences, and sexual offences against children. He has a particular expertise in sensitive criminal cases involving high-profile individuals, and has been repeatedly recognised as one of the leading sexual offence specialists in England and Wales.

Over the course of his career, Marcus has acted on behalf of hundreds of individuals at the pre-police involvement, pre-charge, post-charge and appeals stages, and regularly attends hearings in the Magistrates’ Court, the Crown Court, and the Court of Appeal.

Marcus also routinely appears in the national press and media as an expert legal commentator on law, criminal justice, and politics.