Charles Arrand
Shoosmiths LLPThe group at Shoosmiths LLP is considered ‘second-to-none’ by clients and is headed up by the ’exceptional, no-nonsense lawyer’ Hayley Saunders, who works from the firm’s Birmingham hub and has strong expertise in providing non-contentious compliance advice and in defending clients in investigations and prosecutions. Major disaster response and management is a key area of specialism for the team, and one of Phil Ryan‘s prominent focus areas, while regulatory crime specialist Charles Arrand is described as ’a star of the regulatory field’. Rubina Zaidi is also noteworthy for her work assisting with national public inquiries. Joanne Sear departed to an in-house role in June 2024, and former co-lead Roy Tozer retired from practice in June 2023.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Shoosmiths' continued specialist HSE legal advice and engagement has been second-to-none. The pragmatism, relationship management and delivery have never faltered.’
‘Charles Arrand is a star of the regulatory field. He has unparalleled knowledge and experience of health and safety law and environmental regulation.'
‘A good-sized team working in health and safety - both for companies and individuals.'
‘Hayley Saunders is a go-to for her client manner and deep experience in health and safety and inquests. Easy to work with and she knows her stuff.’
‘Very user-friendly with knowledge across a wide-range of regulatory areas which enables them to put their advice in a commercial context for our business. They are prepared to advise in difficult and new areas, rather than simply providing options.’
‘Phil Ryan is able to provide advice on some really thorny issues affecting the safe operation of our business; Hayley Saunders has fantastic health and safety experience, particularly where dealing with high risk industries and crisis management - she is very down-to-earth and user-friendly.’
‘In my experience without exception everybody in the team is 100% client-focused and they worked seamlessly together. That is very unique. They also have excellent depth and breadth and can draw upon other disciplines to bolster the work being done when required.’
‘Paul Eccles is an exceptional client liaison who takes much of the strain and the pain for the client during cases; Hayley Saunders is wise beyond her years and an exceptional, no-nonsense lawyer.'
Key clients
- IKEA Ltd
- Calor Gas
- WeWork
- Hitachi Rail
- Total
- Poundland
- McDonald’s Restaurants Limited
- The Middle Level Commissioners
Work highlights
- Advising a leading electrical retailer on the health and safety operations at one of its warehouses, including conducting an investigation into the third party operator whose employees were clearly acting unsafely and failing to report incidents.
- Acted for the regulator in the prosecution of a very large organisation following a fatal accident involving an employee hit by a reversing vehicle during unloading operations in 2019.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Hayley Saunders
Shoosmiths LLPPractice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Hayley Saunders