Health and safety

Partner

Ruth is the Head of the Regulatory and Business Defence Unit at Gateley. Ruth is a recognised leader in the regulatory field, advising on all regulatory disciplines ranging from fatal accidents to fraud and pollution to bribery. She has over 25 years’ experience of regulatory and white collar defence work for businesses and senior office holders. Ruth sits on the IOSH Environmental & Waste Management Group national committee and working party of the National Safety & Health Conference. She delivers strategic guidance and thought leadership to industry through her business defence work.

   Andrew Brammer joined Weightmans in April 2019, to become the Lead lawyer in the Midlands Regulatory Team. Since qualifying in 1996, he has developed an enviable reputation as a specialist Regulatory lawyer.Working for national and international organisations across multiple sectors, Andrew’s practice focuses on protecting businesses and key decision makers during criminal investigations and prosecutions. He has defended hundreds of clients against regulatory bodies like the Health and Safety Executive, Environment Agency and Local Authority Trading Standards teams. His polished but practical style enables him to advise at all levels and he has been described as "highly experienced and impressively robust" and is known for his "tactical astuteness" and "excellent attention to detail".Drawing on his knowledge and experience, clients regularly call upon Andrew to offer in-house training and compliance management support.Andrew’s expertise in contentious health and safety and environmental law has been recognised by legal directories for over a decade and he is cited as being a "Leading Individual" by the Legal 500 for his health and safety work.

Rachel has a wealth of experience advising across a range of regulatory issues covering investigations and enforcement action brought by the Health & Safety Executive, the Police, Food Standards Agency, Environmental Health Officers, the Environment Agency and Fire Authorities. Rachel’s contentious practice means she has gained significant experience in advising clients on a range of issues including: corporate manslaughter, health and safety, environmental offences (water pollution, waste, packaging, and noise, odour and light pollution, food safety including hygiene and labelling), fire safety, trading standards, consumer protection and licensing. She advises across the sectors with particular expertise in advising the: construction and engineering, retail, manufacturing , logistics, education and health.   Rachel has experience of advising at the most senior level within an organisations dealing with the most urgent types of regulatory investigations including fatal accidents and has extensive advocacy experience in both the criminal and coroner courts. As well as advising corporate clients, partnerships and individuals facing investigations and enforcement she also provides non-contentious advice on range of regulatory issues including: post Brexit compliance requirements,  packaging and waste regulations, crisis response protocols and supporting training, compliance requirements for product launches including tech products, medical devices regulations and bespoke training on a range of regulatory issues.  Rachel also has a significant public inquiries practice and is currently instructed to represent Core Participants in the Manchester Arena and Grenfell.

Partner

Tom specialises in health and safety law and regulatory compliance. Having previously prosecuted on behalf of HSE and various Local Authorities he joined Weightmans’ Regulatory team in the Birmingham office in 2016. Tom is a determined litigator with a proven track record in regulatory matters including Health and Safety and Road Traffic offences. Tom tenaciously defends clients who find themselves under investigation.  Since joining Weightmans Tom has developed a growing reputation for successfully defending individuals and organisations (both public and private sector) in relation to a full range of health and safety and regulatory offences. Testimonials (Legal 500 - 2023)   “Tom Boulton has a calm and level-headed approach towards his cases which provides his clients with reassurance in challenging circumstances.” “Tom Boulton has always been very focussed on helping his clients get the best advice they could so that they understand the challenges facing them and can act from a position of informed choice. I was impressed that Tom went beyond providing the traditional provision of high-quality legal advice following incidents. He also identified areas where clients could improve their practice and manage risks better to avoid future incidents or to mitigate their impact. In doing so, he sought input from relevant engineering risk management experts so that his client got the best possible combination of engineering and legal advice.”

Principal Associate

James has specialised in regulatory law since 2012, covering all aspects of: Health and safety Corporate manslaughter/gross negligence manslaughter Inquests Fire safety Careless/dangerous driving Food hygiene/safety Environmental law. He has a national practice and represents clients throughout England and Wales. James provides advice and representation for companies and individuals throughout the entire duration of regulatory investigations, often being instructed in the immediate aftermath of serious and fatal accidents, and carrying matters through to their conclusion. He has extensive experience of court litigation and trial preparation, and has particular skill in dealing with complex areas of expert evidence. James is passionate about getting to know his clients’ businesses in detail, ensuring that his advice always takes into account the wider impact the matter might have on the business as a whole. He works for all manner of businesses, ranging from multi-nationals to sole traders and individuals, with particular experience in manufacturing, construction, health and social care, leisure, agriculture, food and hospitality, local government, education, fire services, haulage, waste and recycling, and mining. At the outset of his career, James gained significant experience in the prosecution of health and safety and fire safety cases. Having experience of how such cases are prosecuted gives James a significant tactical edge when defending. James regularly advises clients in relation to fire safety matters and issues arising from the new regulatory regime under the Building Safety Act. James wrote an article on the Building Safety Act that was published by the Law Society’s quarterly Property in Practice magazine. James also carries out non-contentious advisory work for his clients, including advising on health and safety and fire safety requirements, providing training, and carrying out due diligence in relation to the firm’s corporate deals. He recently advised private equity investors in relation to the health and safety (and fire safety) implications of its acquisition of a group of 171 health and social care companies. James is currently instructed in relation to numerous complex health and safety cases, including: manufacturing fatalities in Nottinghamshire and Shropshire; Crown Court trials in Birmingham, Southwark and Chelmsford; and HSE investigations into construction accidents causing life-changing in Northumberland and Berkshire. He recently represented a company director in the West Midlands who was acquitted of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to a fatal accident at a recycling facility.

Kate specialises in health & safety, environmental matters, white collar crime, Trading Standards, NCA, FCA and SOCA investigations. Kate is a highly regarded legal director at Gateley and has been with the team for seven years. Kate specialises in defending all types of health & safety cases, environmental investigations, general criminal defence work and financial crime. Kate regularly attends Coroners Courts and Criminal Courts representing businesses and individuals facing all manner of health & safety investigations and prosecutions.  Kate is at home in the Criminal Court arena having been a Court Duty Solicitor and accredited Police Station Representative for many years. Kate is able to bring her wealth of experience of general criminal defence work to health & safety/ regulatory investigations, a skillset that is often lacking in regulatory lawyers. Kate is client-focused and proactive, often resolving complex health & safety and regulatory investigations with out of Court disposals securing minimum fuss and limited reputational damage for the client. Clients often comment on Kate’s no-nonsense, practical approach and her insight in being able to anticipate the way in which a regulator will proceed with an investigation and be two steps ahead of them. Kate is a focused lawyer and her ability to get into the detail of a case makes her unflappable, delivering excellent results every time. Kate regularly writes blogs, social media posts and articles for health & safety publications.