The Legal 500

Position

Specialises in personal injury, medical negligence, crime and health and safety. Recommended by both ‘The Legal 500’ and ‘Chambers UK 2006’, which praised his ‘devastating cross-examination skills’ and pronounced him ‘top of the tree’. Has an unusual depth of experience and a distinguished track record covering catastrophic personal injury for claimants and defendants, particularly spinal and head injuries; clinical negligence for claimants and defendants; professional negligence; commercial crime; health and safety; and civil fraud. Has handled many of the highest-profile cases in his particular area of work. He has been involved in numerous cases both in the UK and overseas covering injuries of the utmost severity arising from road traffic, sporting and other accidents; clinical negligence and other breaches of duty. Has significant expertise in health and safety, dealing with some of the important issues in this area, and has an equally impressive track record in criminal work, including defending solicitors charged with serious criminal conduct and boardroom corruption cases. A specialist trial advocate, his numerous plaudits include ‘Chambers UK 2006’ describing his ‘lightness of touch, attention to detail and humour’. Notable recent cases: R v Imco Plastics Ltd (corporate manslaughter; Legionnaires Disease; cooling tower escape; multi-death and injury. Instructed by Imco Plastics; acquittal after lengthy trial and legal submissions; solicitors Osbourne Clarke); R v British Gas 9 HSE prosecution, instructed by British Gas; major escape of gas and risk of major incident with multiple deaths and injuries; asserted that town in question was at risk of being blown up; solicitors British Gas); R v Otis Investments PLC/Ltd (HSE prosecution, instructed by Otis; deaths resulting from collapse of lift doors in tower block; HSE sought to establish that lift doors gave way (cat flapped) by reason of Otis failure to modify and maintain the lifts in the block; succeeded in establishing no causation of death; case continuing issues – mechanism of accident, causation, penalty; solicitors Morgan Cole); R v Kevin Kempen – Millennium Copthorne Hotel Ltd (corporate and gross negligence manslaughter – deaths and injuries from Legionnaires Disease; instructed for defence of MD and company which installed humidification equipment in the hotel; acquitted of manslaughter; solicitors Bird & Co); R v de Vey & Others (HSE prosecution; gross negligence manslaughter and health and safety charges; instructed for defence of owner of travelling fairground – fairground life and death ride; issues – causation, massive disclosure difficulties including consideration of cover-up; novas acts interveniens; acquittal; solicitors Foot Ansty Sargent); R v Bayley (defending solicitor charged with making false statements during section 2 interview, Winchester Crown Court; solicitors Wolferstans); R v Clothier & Clothier (gross negligence manslaughter; instructed for Farmer; escape of farm equipment on highway; verdict overturned by Court of Appeal and an acquittal directed; solicitors Lyons Davidson); R v Challacombe & Others (multi-million-pound fraud on St Helena government in respect of St Helena Line; massive documentation; instructed for director; fraud alleged to have taken place over a ten-year period; acquittal after lengthy trial and legal submissions; solicitors Russell Jones & Walker); R v South West Water (HSE prosecution; pollution of drinking water; instructed by company; acquitted after legal submissions at outset of case; solicitors Herbert Smith); R v Gloyne (successful defence of police officer on charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice; solicitors Russell Jones & Walker); R v Williams & Others (dockyard fraud valued at £4.5m, Plymouth Crown Court; solicitors Wolferstans); R v Kuncharalingam (gross negligence manslaughter; successful defence of an anaesthetist charged with administering drug overdose in theatre); R v Rudkin & Another (instructed by chief executive of company converting straw into flax; immense, highly complex document-based fraud; foundation of Crown’s case was that defendant and the company constructed a multi-million fraud on the Intervention Board and the European Union and their subsidies’ schemes; Crown’s case that the defendant and the company he ran received millions of pounds by fraud in respect of subsidy payments; the Crown asserted a well-planned fraud which had taken place over some years; solicitors Cartright King); R v Williams & Another (corruption – instructed for MD of a major national company; £1m illegal payment to bank manager of large bank; solicitors Simons Muirhead & Burton).

Career

Called 1965, Gray’s Inn; Silk 1986; Master of the Bench 1996; New South Wales Bar 2000; recorder of the Crown Court since 1977; head of chambers 2001-04.

Languages

Passing French and German.

Member

Professional Negligence Bar Association; Criminal Bar Association; Health & Safety Lawyers Association.

Education

Rudolph Steiner Schools in England & Switzerland (CLE).

Practice Areas

Clinical negligence - either side; Health and safety; Personal injury - either side