New Park Court Chambers

Crime, Regulatory, Civil

Robert Smith KC is primarily, a trial advocate specialising in regulatory and medico legal cases and the defence of companies and individuals under investigation by The Serious Fraud Office, regulators such as The Financial Conduct Authority and The Health and Safety Executive and by police forces.

In recent years his professional work load has involved the prosecution and defence of complex and particularly serious criminal cases, with a particular emphasis on medico-legal and scientific issues, the defence and prosecution of professional defendants such as medical practitioners and health care professionals and the defence of corporate bodies, their senior managers and directors.

His cases have involved and continue to involve a wide range of situations in which the criminal law has been engaged including scientific issues, aviation, industry, coal mines, railways, food and consumer safety, educational establishments, the pharmaceutical industry, newspaper publishing and medico-legal issues. He has also advised on matters involving Parliamentary Privilege and allegations of contempt of the House of Commons. He have conducted cases involving Human Rights issues in both the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords. He has acted for North West Fire Control Limited in the long running Public Inquiry into the Manchester Arena Bombing. Publication of the Inquiry’s Report is expected in the latter part of 2022.

Robert advised upon and conducted litigation in the field of regulatory criminal law [in particular health and safety, bribery and corruption and the prosecution and defence of corporate bodies particularly in the context of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and the Bribery Act 2010] and related litigation, including civil actions involving the police, administrative court cases, extradition issues and cases involving misfeasance in public office.

Robert has a particular interest in gross negligence manslaughter, particularly in the context of medical failings and in cases involving the medical implications of non-accidental head injury in children (‘NAHI’ – formerly described as ‘shaken baby syndrome’) and have been involved in many cases, both for the prosecution and the defence, in which the ‘triad’ of signs and their interpretation has arisen.

He has conducted a significant number of cases of fraud and alleged corruption, representing both individual and corporate defendants under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. Robert is familiar with the practice of the US Department of Justice and the US Securities Exchange Commission in the context of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the United States Exchange Act.

Robert remains committed to conducting a number of publicly funded criminal cases and consider that the criminal Bar has an obligation to do so. Most of his pro bono work has involved advising upon and reviewing complex cases which have already been decided at first instance. These have included medico-legal and regulatory issues. He has also advised and acted pro bono in a number of recent cases involving lawyers and individuals from other professions facing regulatory process or investigation at first instance. Many of the clients in such circumstances do not have the financial means to consider avenues for redress where the legal system has failed them at first instance or where a full and effective defence would be financially onerous. He is prepared to consider a limited number of cases annually in respect of this service where instructing solicitors are in a position to provide a full file for initial assessment by him as to merit.

Robert has been closely involved in presenting lectures and seminars on topics of current and historical legal and academic interest. Recent work includes presentations in respect of legal professional privilege in conjunction with the University of Northumbria in relation to reform of the law, sponsored by The Modern Law Review. Material currently in preparation includes ‘The Age of Advocacy’, a study of the Advocates of the nineteenth century and their leading cases.

Robert was Called to the Bar in 1971 and commenced practice on the North Eastern Circuit at 5 King’s Bench Walk. These chambers had produced many ‘high powered’ appointments to the Bench including Lord Justice Cumming-Bruce, Mr Justice Veale and Mr Justice Payne and he was privileged to begin his career there. 5 King’s Bench Walk was later to become a Circuit based set of chambers located in Leeds where they have remained ever since and became Park Court Chambers. In 2011 they amalgamated with the outstanding set of chambers at Broad Chare in Newcastle upon Tyne to become New Park Court Chambers.

Robert has remained in the same set of chambers throughout his career. When he  began, Circuit work and pupillage was multi-disciplinary and with his pupil master, Gerald Coles, who was in due course to be appointed Queen’s Counsel and ultimately Recorder of Bradford, he saw criminal and civil practice in the last year of the Assize and Nisi Prius system before it was swept away with the reform of the Courts.  Robert had the opportunity to see and to listen to advocacy at the very highest level and to be taught the discipline of the common law, involving both criminal and civil litigation and some specialized work. He had the opportunity of being led in many cases as a junior by particularly able criminal trial advocates such as Harry Ognall QC and Gilbert Gray QC. Notable early cases as a junior included the defence of the company secretary of Kagan Textiles before Mr Justice Roderick Smith and The Selby Caravan Murder before Mr Justice Caulfield.

Once appointed to Silk in 1986 Robert continued to conduct both criminal and civil litigation with a strong emphasis on serious personal injury cases and clinical and professional negligence. He has been engaged in a number of notable civil cases, including acting for the victims of the Bradford City Football Stadium disaster in the successfully conducted contested litigation before Cantley J at Leeds Crown Court and advising in relation to passenger claims in the context of the Warsaw Convention (prior to amendments created by the Montreal Convention in May 1999) in a number of notable aviation accidents. These included the East Midlands airport crash which involved a British Midland Boeing 737-400 which landed on the M1 motorway at Kegworth on the 8th January 1989 when the flight crew mistakenly shut down the one remaining good engine.

Eventually, more and more serious criminal cases were presented to Robert to advise upon and to act in and, coincidentally with the ‘Woolf’ reform of the civil courts, he became a specialist criminal practitioner. He still conducts some civil litigation but invariably do so when conducted jointly with the assistance of specialist civil practitioners (both juniors and leaders) and often where some issue arises which involves criminal expertise or civil fraud.

Head of New Park Court Chambers (2000-2022) Editorial Advisory Board of Blackstone's Criminal Practice (2010-date) Visiting Professor at the University of Northumbria Bencher of the Inner Temple Deputy Judge of the High Court (1994-2008) Recorder of the Crown Court (1982-2008) Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (1989-1992)