Hilliard was educated at
Bradfield College in
Berkshire, and
Lincoln College, Oxford.
Called to the Bar in 1981, he was appointed a
Bencher of the
Middle Temple in 2003. In 1995, Hilliard was appointed Treasury Counsel at the
Central Criminal Court and served in that capacity until 2008 when he was promoted Senior Treasury Counsel. In 2001 he was appointed as a Recorder of the Crown Court and in 2003 became a
Master of the Bench at the
Middle Temple. Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association from 2005 to 2006, Hilliard
took silk in 2008. In that year he led the prosecution of the murderers of
Ben Kinsella.
Prosecutor In 2003, Hilliard led the prosecution of the case of
R v Ingram, C., Ingram, D. and Whittock, T. In 2011, on behalf of the
Crown Prosecution Service, he unsuccessfully prosecuted
Jonathan Rees for the 1987 murder of
private investigator Daniel Morgan, who had been examining
police corruption. Hilliard acknowledged the police could not be relied upon to ensure access to documents that the defence might require and the prosecution was fatally undermined as a result and Rees was discharged.
Judicial career Hilliard was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge in 2012, making him the Resident Judge on the South Eastern Circuit, based at
Woolwich Crown Court. He was subsequently appointed
Common Serjeant of London then
Recorder of London before advancement as a judge of the
High Court of Justice in November 2019. Sir Nicholas has been a contributing editor to
Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice since 1994. ==Honours and appointments==