Prosecuting Successfully – Practical Lessons and Insights

Prosecuting is not easy and in our experience, there are some common issues that come up again and again. In our recent Health & Safety and Other Prosecutions – Practical Lessons and Insights webinar, we reviewed a high profile case, giving practical insight in to the practicalities of a prosecuting a lengthy, multi-defendant case.

In this session, Adam Kendall and Louise Mansfield looked at some of the key steps and crucial processes for a successful prosecution. They were joined on the panel by Shauna Ritchie from Mayfair Place Chambers – a specialist barrister practising in crime and health and safety, who regularly prosecutes and who outlined some of the key issues she has been seeing, how they can be overcome, and gave reflection on some of her recent prosecutions.  We also welcomed Roger Giess, a lawyer in the General Counsel’s Department at London Fire Brigade, who shared his experiences including the recent BUPA fire safety case.

The key topics considered by the panel included:

• Initial Investigation and Evidence gathering – Attendance at the scene; physical evidence; documents; witness interviews/statements; legal privilege
• Case Strategy – The “Thinking Approach” and Early Strategy; considering charges
• Disclosure – Attorney General and Regulator Guidance; s8 Applications; ongoing disclosure; used/unused schedules
• Defence Engagement – The Importance of Stages 2 & 3
• Learnings from recent fire safety cases including BUPA (highest fire safety fine to date) and getting the right multi-agency approach to fire enforcement.