James Leonard KC KC > Chambers of James Counsell KC and Keith Bryant KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
Outer Temple Chambers Offices
Outer Temple Chambers
THE OUTER TEMPLE, 222 STRAND
LONDON
WC2R 1BA
England
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James Leonard KC KC
Work Department
Health and Safety, Financial Services, Contempt of Court and Sanctions, Disciplinary and Regulatory
Position
Barrister specialising in Health and Safety, Financial Services, Contempt of Court and Sanctions, Disciplinary and Regulatory.
Career
Called 1989; Inner Temple.
James specialises predominantly in Health, Safety & Environmental Law and has an established practice in Disciplinary & Regulatory cases. He has a considerable background in complex industrial accident cases, fraud and corruption cases, financial services, multi-jurisdictional confiscation proceedings and Public Law.
James has been a leading Junior in two Counsel cases since 2005 and was appointed King’s Counsel in 2022.
James Leonard KC’s reputation is for prompt assistance to all professional clients in all disciplines; detailed preparation, calm, reasoned and practical advice for all lay clients as well as robust advocacy, fearless cross examination and sound tactical sense in Court.
In 2014, James was the Chambers & Partners Professional Discipline Junior of the Year, and in 2017 he was the Chambers and Partners Health and Safety Junior of the Year.
As at 2022, James Leonard is one of only two barristers at the Bar of England and Wales to whom Chambers & Partners have afforded the ‘Star’ status in Health and Safety law.
Against the background of his fraud, corruption and financial services experience, James is regularly instructed in relation to allegations of Contempt of Court in relation to disobeying court orders in relation to assets and disclosure thereof.
Memberships
- Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers
- Criminal Bar Association
- Health & Safety Lawyers Association
Education
BA Hons.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Health and safety
(2023 Silks)Ranked: Tier 1James Leonard KC –Outer Temple Chambers ‘A very responsive advocate with brilliant attention to detail.’
With a particularly strong maritime and rail-related health and safety practice, Outer Temple Chambers is also highly regarded as ‘the go-to set for corporate defendants and company officers facing health and safety investigations and prosecutions‘. Ben Compton KC is representing the explosives contractors in ongoing proceedings arising from the Didcot Power Station collapse in 2016, which resulted in four fatalities. In a separate matter, James Leonard KC successfully defended a construction company in a health and safety case arising from a fatal accident on a construction site. Oliver Powell is routinely instructed in maritime-related health and safety cases, and is prosecuting for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in MCA v Intrada Ships Management Ltd (‘Scot Carrier’), a long-running case concerning a double fatality following a fatal vessel collision in 2021.
London Bar > Professional disciplinary and regulatory law
(2023 Silks)Ranked: Tier 1James Leonard KC – Outer Temple Chambers ‘James is very good with complex situations, difficult clients and keeping focus on a clear way forward.’