Simon has over 25 years’ of experience as one of the leading barristers in this field of criminal regulatory law. Together with John Cooper KC, he set up the criminal regulatory team within Crown Office Chambers in 2004, having established a practice in this field whilst at Kings Chambers in Manchester. That criminal regulatory team is now the largest in any set of chambers in the country and includes barristers of all levels.
He has defended corporate clients in some of the highest profile health and safety cases that have been brought in this country, including the Buncefield Oil Terminal explosion, the the Smiler Rollercoaster accident at Alton Towers, the recent criminal prosecution relating to the Hillsborough football stadium disaster of 1989, and the ongoing public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. Most recently he successfully defended a managing director charged with four counts of manslaughter in relation to the explosion at his company’s wood mill in Bosley, Cheshire, in which four employees died. Simon’s legal submission of no case to answer was upheld by the Court of Appeal R. v. WTL & George Boden [2021] EWCA Crim 618. He has followed this up by successfully defending a leading insurance company in relation to the death of an employee during the course of an inspection at one of its customer’s premises and also a waste recycling company in relation to the death of a sub-contractor at its site.
He has represented or advised many of the largest companies in the UK and the world including BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, McDonalds, Coca Cola, Ikea, Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Tesco, Sainsburys, Marks & Spencer, National Grid, Starbucks, Zurich, Royal Sun Alliance and ITV.
He has also defended numerous directors, managers, site managers, construction professionals, safety consultants and employees in relation to individual prosecutions for both manslaughter, breach of health, fire or food safety law and trading standards offences.
He has been ranked as a leading barrister in the fields of criminal health and safety law and consumer law by the Chambers and Partners Legal Directory for the UK Bar for now over 20 years. He is currently ranked at the highest level, as a “star individual” for health and safety.
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Recommendations
“Simon is first class.”…”extremely talented and dedicated with a real drive to get to the bottom of tricky issues.”…He “is exceptional when it comes to managing clients, and academically he is superb.”
Chambers & Partners, 2025
“An exceptional KC and superb advocate. He knows how to read the court and jury.”…”Simon has a phenomenal capacity and an ability to assimilate a vast amount of evidence which us mere mortals can only dream about.”
Legal 500, 2025
“Simon is an excellent advocate, gaining the trust of clients, judges and juries alike.”….”Simon is one of the best in this field. He makes clients confident because he makes it clear he’s going to do his very best for them.”
Chambers & Partners, 2024
‘Simon is meticulous in his preparation and his advocacy is firm, persuasive and impressive.’
Legal 500, 2024
‘Simon advocates on his clients’ behalf with grace and panache. His statements are concise and precise, often encapsulating complex points and principles in both judge and jury-friendly terms and aided by his crystal-clear delivery.‘
Legal 500, 2024
“One of the best trial counsel around and an expert at setting out mitigation. Simon can deal with those cases where you need a touch of magic to navigate difficult or complex issues.”
Chambers & Partners, 2022
“Absolutely first class. He has a fantastic feel for a case, and really gets into the detail and understands every aspect.”
Legal 500, 2022
“His written work is brilliant, his cross-examination skills are very, very good and he’s a brilliant trial advocate.”
Chambers & Partners, 2021
“Simon is a star performer in the top bracket. He is very astute and his strategic thinking and attention to detail are second to none. Makes clients feel reassured that they have someone at the top of their game who will fight their corner.”…”Real expertise, very approachable and measured in his approach – my go-to advocate!”
Legal 500, 2021
“He is fiercely intelligent, very commercially aware and has a brilliant manner with clients. He has a real strength in understanding and simplifying technical and expert evidence for judges and juries alike and is amongst the most polished advocates around. Simon is particularly good at looking at novel arguments and bringing a new way of thinking to the case.”
Legal 500, 2021
“A brilliant barrister who will fly in silk.”; “He gets a great rapport going with clients and has a good criminal legal brain which is of great help on strategic issues that come up.”
Chambers & Partners, 2020
