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.
England - West Midlands • Real estate
Gateley Legal
The regulatory and business defence group at Gateley Legal is well regarded for its capacity to handle high-profile investigations, particularly relating to serious pollution, and trials at both the Magistrates' Court and Crown Court. The practice is spearheaded by Ruth Armstrong, who is recognised for her environmental regulatory experience, evidenced by her engagement in matters involving the Environment Agency and local authority EHO teams. Legal director Kate Oliver specialises in defending clients in environmental investigations and subsequent prosecutions involving an array of regulatory bodies.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Key clients
- Taylor Wimpey Plc
- Bellway Homes Plc
- Vistry Group
- Croudace Homes
- Donald Ward Limitd
- Clearaway Limited
- DCC Plc
- Certas Energy UK Limited
- United Molasses Group
- Story Homes
- Dr. Oetker (UK) Limited
- BioMarsh Environmental Ltd
- Grupo Bimbo UK Limited
- Samworth Brothers
- Countrywide Properties
Work highlights
- Advising a number of FTSE 100/250 developers on their environmental obligations across constructions sites, and providing crisis management support and criminal defence support,
- Acting for the lead consortium developer prosecuted for failing to manage silt issues in surface water run-off for its own activities and the activities of another consortium member.
- Acting for a waste producer concerning 37,000 tonnes of material deposited illegally at a brownfield location, managing the EA investigation and remediation process.
Lawyers
Rising stars
Leading individuals
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.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Ruth Armstrong