A well-respected and experienced health & safety lawyer, Dewi has been ranked for a number of years in Chambers and Legal 500 and his reputation with peers and clients continues to grow. He specialises in work in the criminal and coronial jurisdictions. His main focus is assisting organisations in post-death investigations, managing regulatory enforcement action and representing clients at inquests. He has represented clients at hundreds of inquests around the country, involving the most sensitive of cases, workplace deaths and Article 2 hearings in front of juries. After qualifying, Dewi quickly found himself at home dealing largely with insurer/insured public sector clients. He is dedicated to working within the criminal, regulatory and coronial jurisdictions. Dewi advises a wide range of clients in investigating serious incidents and representing them at inquests, as well as assisting with risk management and behavioural change. His areas of specialty include: Working with organisations to understand their Corporate Risk Profile, to improve culture and behaviours and make the workplace safer. Crisis Management Support (24/7) - advice and representation in the wake of incidents. Assisting organisations with legally privileged incident investigations to protect their position, learn lessons and make any necessary changes. Preparing clients who may be exposed to Regulatory or Coronial investigations/inquests/enforcement action. Defence of Health & Safety and Corporate Manslaughter prosecutions. Inquests as a result of workplace fatalities & road traffic incidents. Dewi provides advice and representation to a range of household-name clients such as: Shell UK Oil, E.On UK, RWE Renewables, Kimberly Clark Ltd, Emcor UK Ltd and various local authorities and NHS/healthcare clients As a former Executive Committee Member of the Health & Safety Lawyers’ Association for many years, he was involved in shaping the Guidelines on Sentencing for Corporate Manslaughter and continues to regularly present to a number of regional health & safety focus groups and public sector forums.
England - North West • Employment
Weightmans LLP
Weightmans LLP is experienced in defending and prosecuting matters such as trading standards, health and safety, fire and food. The firm acts for clients across the public, commercial, charity, sports and insurance sectors. Dewi Ap-Thomas leads the team and is recognised for his advice in relation to criminal and coronial matters. David Lewis handles matters ranging from corporate and gross negligence manslaughter investigations to jury inquests.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Weightmans is a firm which contains very talented lawyers who also happen to be really nice people to work with.’
'Excellent acting for individuals with pragmatic advice to navigate potential conflicts between employer and employee.’
‘Dewi Ap-Thomas is a legal eagle - his human approach means he is interested in the person's background and goals and able to engage effectively at all levels.’
‘Expertise in the law and practice, combined with a strategic eye on reputation of the client and support for witnesses.’
- 'Readily accessible, attending to matters efficiently and in good time. Invest time supporting witnesses through stressful proceedings. Expert awareness of the organisational impact of judicial proceedings.’
Work highlights
- Represented an individual scout leader following the death of a scout in 2018.
Lawyers
Leading individuals
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Dewi Ap-Thomas, David Lewis