Julie Gowland > Birketts LLP > Norwich, England > Lawyer Profile

Birketts LLP ‘operates to the highest professional and ethical standards‘ and clients remark that the regulatory and corporate defence team ‘provides expert technical advice in a very practical and personal way‘. Matthew Gowen leads the practice from Ipswich, where legal director Daniel Irving is a key member of the team. Up-and-coming partner Julie Gowland in Norwich is a key adviser on HSE investigations, inquests, and prosecutions following serious and fatal accidents. All three are qualified barristers. Gowen and Gowland, who frequently handle disputes in the leisure and tourism, retail, aviation and construction industries, recently defended AFE Group in an HSE prosecution following a fatal accident at a private hospital.

The regulatory and corporate defence practice at Birketts LLP is ‘responsive and dynamic‘. Barristers Matthew Gowen and the ‘very professional and supportive’ Julie Gowland in Ipswich lead a practice that has a strong national reputation for high-stakes cases. Handling private crime, regulatory investigations, RTA, health and safety, food law, Trading Standards matters and financial crime, the firm relies heavily on the advocacy experience of its two key partners, both of whom have Higher Rights. Associate Rebecca Utton  in Norwich ‘has the ability to put our clients at ease and breathes confidence‘.

Birketts LLP handles the full range of licensing and regulatory matters for a highly diverse roster of clients, among them breweries, hotel chains, night clubs, racecourses, events operators, bingo hall chains, takeaway outlets, churches, wedding venues, and concert promoters. Barrister and head of licensing Julie Gowland in Norwich and fellow barrister Matthew Gowen in Ipswich are the main practitioners. Their work encompasses licence applications and contested matters, and the firm is able to draw on other niche areas of expertise to advise on planning issues tied in with licensing, and a range of other issues.