The Legal 500 > United Kingdom - The Bar > Regional Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety)

Guildhall Chambers is home to Andrew Langdon QC who is seen by some as 'the best jury advocate in health and safety cases, not just on the Western Circuit, but nationally'. 'He brings his encyclopaedic knowledge of criminal procedure, forensic skills, and jury craft to health and safety cases and deploys them to the greatest possible advantage.' Instructing solicitors also praise Langdon QC for being 'a great team player and is particularly effective in cases arising from joint police and HSE investigations'. In recent instructions of note, he successfully defended a partnership charged with corporate manslaughter following a fatal accident on a farm where a worker was killed when the brakes failed on a trailer he was towing down a hill.

Members of 3PB are highly active in health and safety cases across the western circuit, with instructions for both the defence and prosecution in a range of cases up to and including multi-fatality matters. Nicholas Cotter is highly recommended, particularly for matters relating to care homes, while Tom Horder is another key name within the set, and recently prosecuted the owner of a bouncy castle erected at a sailing regatta, which injured several children after being lifted by high winds and carried for several metres.

Albion Chambers' regulatory offering focuses primarily on health and safety cases, although members are also instructed in relation to fires safety, Care Quality Commission decisions, and consumer protection regulations. Kate Brunner QC is involved in some of the circuit's most serious regulatory matters, with recent work including food labelling and allergy issues, such as her prosecution of Pret a Manger, which allegedly did not disclose the presence of sesame seeds in a product, leading to a life-threatening allergic reaction in a customer. Alan Fuller is another key figure in the team, with a broad regulatory practice covering several different sectors and authorities and generally focusing on prosecution.

Pump Court Chambers is home to regulatory specialists Richard Tutt and Charles Parry, both of whom are particularly experienced in complex health and safety matters, with mixed prosecution and defence practices. Tutt also handles food safety claims, and recently represented a Manila clam trader who was prosecuted by two local authorities for failing to ensure traceability of food and for false descriptions of the clams, successfully avoiding any Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings being issued.