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Kennedys continues to deliver an ‘excellent service’ and ‘accurate and well-researched advice’. The ‘very knowledgeable’ Richard Crockford heads the practice, with Daniel McShee and David Wright singled out for their ‘detailed knowledge and practical experience’. New clients include major construction companies and a global news network.

Under the leadership of Simon Joyston-Bechal, clients praise Pinsent Masons LLP for its ability to ‘understand us and our business environment’. It continues to advise West London Pipeline Services Ltd and United Kingdom Oil Pipelines Ltd on the multi-party litigation arising from the explosion at the Buncefield plant. Other clients of the ‘prompt and efficient’ practice include the Port of London Authority and Maritime Coastguard Agency.

Jan Burgess heads CMS Cameron McKenna LLP’s team, which attracts a good mix of incident, investigation and advisory work. With a solid client following in the oil and gas sector, it is diversifying and growing a practice with major international financial institutions, and also clients from the construction and aviation industries.

The ‘formidable and fantastic’ Teresa Hitchcock heads the team at DLA Piper UK LLP. The practice received instructions on various strategic, company-wide policy reviews from major clients in addition to advising on HSE investigations and corporate manslaughter cases. Key clients include pharmaceutical, petrochemical and construction companies. Roy Tozer is also recommended.

At Nabarro LLP, clients are quick to single out the ‘breadth and depth of knowledge’ in the practice; it ‘maintains a holistic approach to case management and is focused on the client’s best interests’. It regularly advises blue-chip companies on criminal investigations. ‘Very effective litigator’ Lukas Rootman is ‘extremely committed and determined’, and was promoted to partner in May 2009. Ray Clarke is recommended for his ‘tenacious charm’.

Simmons & Simmons advises on a mix of contentious, non-contentious and regulatory issues for power, mining and petrochemical companies. Jacqui O’Keeffe heads the practice and is recommended along with James Taylor.

Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP’s team is headed by the ‘capable’ John Goodman and offers ‘good knowledge and valued advice given on sensitive matters’. It was appointed as adviser to the Coroner at the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes. 2008 saw instructions from large public sector clients on fatality cases. David Knapp brings a ‘measured approach to difficult cases’.

Bond Pearce LLP handles a mix of prosecution and defence work, receiving instructions from the HSE, Royal Mail Group, the Health Protection Agency and several leading retailers. Highlights included the prosecution of Airbus UK following a fatality at the Concorde visitor attraction site. Hilary Ross is ‘outstanding’, and Jon Cooper gives ‘solid advice’.

Burges Salmon LLP continues to service an impressive client base that spans the rail, air, bus, manufacturing, farming and construction sectors. Instructions included cases of asbestos exposure, corporate manslaughter investigations, and strategic advice and policy reviews. Ann Metherall and Chris Jackson are recommended. The team ‘knows the area very well’ and is noted for its keeping clients informed.

Eversheds LLP boasts a ‘strong’ team that consistently impresses clients. It recently advised on a fatality and subsequent investigation for a pharmaceutical company, and is acting for Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd following the Buncefield explosion. Other clients include Centrica and EDF Energy. David Young and Kevin Elliott are recommended.

The ‘tenacious’ team at Fisher Scoggins LLP includes name partner Mark Scoggins, who is ‘great with clients and very thoughtful on all points of law’. Clients include large multinationals, insurers and public bodies.

Notable cases for Herbert Smith LLP, under Howard Watson, include continuing advice to Chevron in relation to the prosecution of its joint venture company HOSL following the Buncefield explosion. Other instructions have come from a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, and a household name media company.

Valued as a ‘good, shrewd tactician’ who is ‘super to work with’, Richard Bretton leads the practice at Osborne Clarke. With a strong client base in the power and utilities sector, it represented Western Power Distribution in a high-profile health and safety prosecution following the death of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth. British Gas and Bristol Water are also clients.

Russell Jones & Walker’s substantial trade union following includes the TUC, the Police Federation and UCU. It was instructed on the Rutherford Laboratory Enquiry, following employees’ exposure to radiation and mercury resulting in a number of fatalities. Fraser Whitehead is recommended.

Highlights for Beachcroft LLP included advising private nursing homes on a number of fatal cases, including representation at inquest. It also advises a major housing corporation, recently acting for it following a carbon monoxide fatality. Patricia Baxter and Andrew Stokes are recommended.

Denton Wilde Sapte LLP is defending VGC as one of three corporate defendants in a Crown prosecution case following a double rail fatality in 2004. The practice is also notable for its strength in the energy sector, with major clients including Shell. Stephen Shergold is the name to note.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP attracts praise for its ‘fast, efficient, professional and friendly service’ and ‘sound business and industry knowledge’. Jonathan Isted is noted for his ‘solid H&S knowledge’ and ‘tactical approach’. Key clients include Brookfield Construction (UK) Ltd and British Nuclear Fuels plc.

Greenwoods Solicitors’ team, featuring Richard Tovell, ‘understands businesses well and gets to grips with technical issues very quickly’. Key cases included advising a leading nursery chain in a highly publicised infant death case resulting from choking on a piece of apple. Stephen Byass is also recommended.

Hammonds LLP provides an ‘excellent service’ and delivers ‘very useful, practical and commercial advice’. Rob Elvin is ‘very good with witnesses due to his breadth of experience with industrial clients’. It advised SITA UK on a number of fatal accident investigations and HSE prosecutions, and Enterprise Inns plc and National Grid are also clients.

2008 saw Lovells LLP instructed on a number of fatal accident investigations. It also provided board training and corporate safety systems reviews for major media companies and global corporates in the mining, engineering and construction sectors. Christopher Norton and Gary Cassidy are the names to note.

The team at BCL Burton Copeland has a ‘wealth of experience and a flair for multi-jurisdictional litigation’. The practice advises on investigations and prosecutions by regulating bodies and coroner inquests, with ‘outstanding attention to detail’.

Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP continues to act for the UK’s largest concreting company, advising on contentious and non-contentious matters including an investigation into the fatality which occurred in the course of the Wembley stadium construction.

Head of regulatory Craig Baylis leads the health and safety offering at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP. The practice advises on non-contentious safety protocols as well as defending clients in proceedings brought by enforcement agencies.

Highlights for Davies Arnold Cooper LLP, under Fiona Gill, included defending Woolworths in proceedings following the removal of asbestos at two stores. Additional clients include a national charity and a construction contractor.

Greenwoods Solicitors LLP advised Gillian Beckingham in the case of The Crown v Gillian Beckingham. Kathryn Gilbertson is recommended.

Acting for insurers, corporates and individuals, Hextalls LLP is well placed to advise on the full gamut of contentious and non-contentious matters. John Yates is the name to note.

Clients of LG’s environment, health and safety practice include commercial and property companies,local authorities, insolvency practitioners, and manufacturers.

David Leckie is the name to note at Maclay Murray & Spens LLP. His expertise spans health and safety, environment, oil and gas and regulatory.

With clients spanning the transport, petrochemical and energy sectors, Norton Rose LLP acted for National Express following the highly publicised Heathrow coach crash in early 2007. Caroline May leads the practice.

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP boosted its capability in 2008 with new hires including partner Steven Francis. It acted for the director of an industrial recycling company following a fatal explosion at its premises. Nick McMahon heads the team.

Shook, Hardy & Bacon International LLP, notably Mark Tyler, is noted for advice to a wide range of clients that include national museums, a dive training body, and a multinational chemical company. The practice regularly advises on inquests and criminal proceedings brought by the HSE.

Notable instructions for Stephenson Harwood included advising a large transport client on a HSE investigation following a fatal accident. Tony Woodcock is recommended.

Also of note are: Clyde & Co LLP (‘very impressive under pressure’); Crowell & Moring, for ‘enormous experience and quality Crown Court work’; Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, which recently acted for a mainstream tour operator following a double fatality; Irwin Mitchell LLP, for its solid national capability; and Kingsley Napley, where the ‘house style never fails to impress’.

Clyde & Co LLP is ‘very impressive under pressure’.

Irwin Mitchell LLP is noted for its solid national capability.

Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP recently acted for a mainstream tour operator following a double fatality.

Kingsley Napley’s ‘house style never fails to impress’.

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Legal Developments in the UK

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  • Student employees – new restrictions on employment

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    - Penningtons Solicitors LLP
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    - Bircham Dyson Bell LLP
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    - Bircham Dyson Bell LLP
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    - Bond Pearce LLP
  • The twilight zone: legal issues for directors

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  • Commission victorious in ‘regulatory holiday’ action brought against Germany

    On 3 December 2009, following an action brought by the European Commission under article 226 of the EC Treaty (now article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU) the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed that Germany had failed to comply with its obligations under the European regulatory framework for telecommunications (the Common Regulatory Framework (CRF)). The ECJ’s judgment in European Commission v Germany [2009] confirms that Germany acted unlawfully by adopting a national law excluding ‘new markets’ from regulation – so called ‘regulatory holidays’.
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  • New Commission

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    - Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP

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