Philip is a Partner in the Investigations and Regulatory teams.
Philip has 20+ years’ experience as a regulatory lawyer and has spent time in house with two well-known global brands. He works for UK SME and Plc clients, as well as having experience advising on international matters and working alongside leading global firms as specialist UK co-counsel for all things regulatory.
He has expertise in product safety and compliance, marketing and advertising, regulated product advisory (tobacco, vaping, alcohol, food, medical devices, UKCA / CE Marking, etc.), corporate investigations, health & safety, trading law, modern slavery & human trafficking, environmental, export control and sanctions, corporate and commercial transactional support. He provides compliance advice, criminal defence of corporates and directors as well as crisis management services in the event of regulatory breaches.
Philip has a lot of retail and FMCG / supply chain experience and is a well-regarded automotive specialist, having acted for many manufacturers of passenger, commercial and industrial vehicles for over a decade. He typically advises on compliance these clients with new product regulation, product liability investigations and recalls, import and export, inquests and safety investigations.
Recent examples of how Philip has supported clients:
- Acting as one of the lead lawyers on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry for over 7 years, advising on fire safety, health and safety, the Met Police Investigation for one of the contractors on the refurbishment.
- Advising a leading supplier of construction products to the NHS on issues arising from alleged non-compliances with standards and variances from certificated performance. Covering the investigation, allegations of wrongdoing by the MD, dealing with issues around potential insolvency, making a disclosure to the regulator and handling the rectification works and customer reaction / threatened litigation.
- Advising a manufacturer of critical fire safety products following the acquisition of a new subsidiary, following allegations of illegality by the outgoing Director. Dealing with the investigation, advising on corrective actions, notification to trading standards, recovery of the seven-figure sale price and advising the group board on future personal and corporate liabilities.
- Advising a new UK distributor (overseas owned) on its entry into the UK automotive market with a range of third-party Chinese vehicles, including advice on liability, compliance, establishment, regulatory requirements and risk management in the supply chain.
- Advising a high-profile British retailer on its response to an accident in store which resulted in a child being injured, including regulatory liaison, customer care, product recall regarding the relevant equipment.
- Advising a subsidiary of a FTSE 100 plc on its incident response, liaison with the HSE, interview under caution and subsequent prosecution as a Very Large Organisation following a conveyor accident which resulted in an amputation to an employee.
- Advising the UK subsidiary of a Japanese Plc on compliance with export controls following an OFSI red flag for diversion of products in Turkey, potentially in breach of Russian sanctions.
Philip was formerly a panel prosecutor for the HSE, albeit his practice is now entirely defence based. He is a member of the HSLA.