Practice Profile

Simon Phillips QC is instructed in a wide variety of regulatory, environmental, licensing, disciplinary and business crime cases.  In environmental casework, he has a particular expertise in fisheries regulation and enforcement.  He has acted on behalf of applicants and objectors in licensing.  In the sporting arena, he has experience in a variety of contexts, including licensing a major new development at an international test cricket stadium, and criminal proceedings involving sportspersons and organisations.  His practice includes major criminal litigation, and the most serious and high profile cases.  He has appeared in a broad spectrum of homicide cases involving murder, corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, industrial fatalities including deaths at sea, and death by dangerous driving.

He was appointed to the Attorney General's ‘A' list of counsel in 2002, and has extensive experience of prosecuting and defending cases involving government agencies, including DEFRA and the Health and Safety Executive.  He provides specialist advice to a broad range of agencies, professional bodies and individuals in connection with criminal litigation and with disciplinary and regulatory issues. 

He has been appointed to the Serious Fraud Office's list of Queen's Counsel and has considerable experience of white-collar crime, including major SFO casework, CPS complex case unit fraud, money-laundering investigations, and Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings involving the Serious Organised Crime Agency and its predecessor, the Assets Recovery Agency.   He has prosecuted and defended a range of prominent individuals and businesses in high value asset forfeiture proceedings involving Regional Asset Recovery Teams, specialist divisions of the CPS, and non-departmental public bodies.  In confiscation proceedings, he is experienced in advisory work at all stages of investigation in relation to a comprehensive range of issues, including restraint orders, disclosure, receivership, variations, certificates of inadequacy, contempt and enforcement.

He joined Francis Taylor Building as an associate tenant in November 2010. 

Experience

REGULATORY LAW

Health and Safety Law.  Simon is experienced in fatal accident cases, and has particular expertise in accidents where expert witnesses from a variety of disciplines are engaged.

• R v Vroon Offshore Services Ltd & Fryer (2009) - prosecution for Humberside & South Yorkshire Complex Case Unit relating to the deaths at sea of 3 crew members of a North Sea gas rig rescue vessel. The deceased had all been asphyxiated in an oxygen-deficient chain locker.
• Re: Frenchgate Centre overhead bridge collapse at inner-city underpass construction site - advice to HSE regarding proceedings.
• R v Apollo Cradles Ltd & Bradway Construction Ltd - HSE prosecution of cradle hire & construction companies for fatally catastrophic collapse of a suspended access cradle. Pre-trial advice in conference with mechanical engineering and metallurgist experts at the Health & Safety Laboratory in Buxton. Evidence relating to component failure in Australia and manufacturing modifications in Holland was adduced at trial
• R v Corus - HSE prosecution arising from a falling crane hoist fatality in a steel mill.
• R v Eggborough Power Ltd - HSE prosecution arising from a fatal staircase collapse at a power station.
• London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority v Greggs Plc (2010) - defended the UK's leading bakery retailer.  Allegations related to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

He has successfully defended in prominent test cases brought by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and its predecessor, the Medicines Control Agency.

• R v K.W, Spiritual High Ltd & others (2009) - defended a company manager, raising abuse of process challenge to this MHRA prosecution of major importers & distributors of ‘legal high' BZP (benzylpiperazine). The focus for challenge was the discrepancy between the MHRA's prosecution strategy and its submissions to the European Commission on medicines control. Defendant discharged.
• R v A.K - defended, raising abuse of process challenge to Medicines Control Agency prosecution of an alleged conspiracy to import vast quantities of kumagra. Defendant discharged.

Copyright, Trade Mark, E-Commerce, and Firearms regulations:

• Federation against Copyright Theft casework.
• European Software Publishers Association casework.
• Trading Standards casework.

Professional Disciplinary:

• Bar Standards Board v LC (2009) - high-profile disciplinary casework.
• General Medical Council casework.
• Police officers - including defence to prosecution for perverting the course of justice.

ENVIRONMENT

Simon has been engaged in several of the largest UK fisheries prosecutions brought by DEFRA and the Marine Fisheries Agency.  He is currently instructed by the Marine Management Organisation.  He is experienced in a broad range of environmental and environmental health issues, including high-profile Pesticides Safety Directorate cases, and also Food Standards Agency, Forestry, Animal Welfare, Veterinary products, Milk Quota and Trading Standards cases.

• R v I. Perkes & another - reported at [2010] EWCA Crim 1010. Instructed by Serious Organised Crime Agency, responding to an appellate challenge to POCA confiscation orders against fish merchants.
• R v TN Trawlers Ltd & others - prosecution for DEFRA of 12 vessel owners, masters & fish merchants. Fish sales were traced through Dutch markets. This case was the first UK prosecution of fish merchants for non-submission of sales notes. Confiscation proceedings for Assets Recovery Agency netted £900,000.
• R v Kilkeel Fishselling Ltd & others - Marine Fisheries Agency (DEFRA) prosecution. 24 defendants convicted. Confiscation proceedings for Assets Recovery Agency resulted in £1m confiscation of corporate assets. Case debated in Northern Ireland Assembly.
• R v Lockers Trawlers Ltd & others - Marine Fisheries Agency (DEFRA) prosecution - 11 defendants convicted, including the president of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations. Case debated in Parliament and reported in Hansard.
• R v S.Trawlers - Marine Fisheries Agency (DEFRA) prosecution for closed season scallop-dredging in Cardigan Bay.
• R v Marshall, Roebuck Eyot Ltd & another - Pesticides Safety Directorate (DEFRA) prosecution of the supplier of a banned product, Renardine.
• R v G.M - Pesticides Safety Directorate (DEFRA) prosecution, following on from a judicial review challenge, for unlicensed storage of bio-chemicals.
• R v Greenopen Ltd - successfully challenged overseas expert accounting evidence and resisted an application to quash fines imposed against a Spanish Trawler company.

LICENSING

His practice includes liquor, entertainment and gaming licensing, and he has been instructed by applicants and objectors at first instance and on appeal in casework involving the major chains, industry leaders, local authorities and Chief Constables.

• Re: Headingley Carnegie Stadium - contested proceedings; obtained licensing grant for applicants for a new £7m international cricket/rugby stadium development by a sporting & university consortium.
• Re Zanzibar - 7 day appeal hearing, involving cross-examination of Nottinghamshire Chief Constable who was opposing an application for a new 1800 capacity nightclub at a city centre venue.
• R v Fletcher & another - prosecution of licensed premises manager and colleague for false accounting thefts from employers.

BUSINESS CRIME

He has a particular interest in white-collar crime.  Prior to being appointed Queen's Counsel, he was on the Serious Fraud Office's ‘A' list of junior counsel.  He has extensive experience of advising on disclosure issues, and in 2005 he was appointed by the Attorney General to the leader list of Special Advocates for cases involving issues of national security.

•  R v Potts & others - the ‘PPP' prosecution. Instructed 2005-2009 by the SFO. Buy-to-let property fraud involving £80m of 1,750 investors' funds. All defendants convicted. Case prominently reported in the SFO's 2009 annual report.
• R v D. Brown - prosecution for Northumbria Complex Case Unit of the MD & CEO of an international oil company for a £2.5m false invoice fraud. Convicted. £656,000 confiscation & compensation order.
• R v Hedges - CPS Special Casework prosecution & POCA proceedings against a former bank manager for theft from a nursing agency partnership.
• R v Roxby - prosecution & POCA proceedings for CPS Special Casework against a senior credit agency business manager for defrauding her employers in a multiple false account fraud.

Tax:

• R v Webster & others - Inland Revenue Special Compliance 3 month trial, involving electronic presentation of evidence, allegation of conspiracy to evade corporation tax.

Expert witnesses:

• R v Akashinroju - defence of conspirator in fire-bombing, forgery & blackmail enforcement of business debt. Forensic scientific challenge to expert cell-site analysis relating to mobile phone evidence.

Guideline case:

• R v Oprey & Pinchbeck - reported at [2002] 1 Cr.App.R.(S.) 317. Defended, reduction on appeal of sentence of hotel manager. Guideline fraud sentencing authority for fraud against employers.

GENERAL CRIME

Simon has over 20 years' experience prosecuting and defending serious offences of violence, including robbery, gun crime and cases involving mental health issues.

• R v Ukpabio - reported at [2008] 1 Cr.App.R.6, & in Archbold 2011 (at para 8-72). Prosecution of Rampton hospital detainee for wounding medical staff. This case marked a significant jurisdictional development of the court's common law powers with reference to the circumstances where a defendant's attendance by video link at trial may be permitted.

Computer expert evidence:

• R v M. Cicero (2009) - prosecution for Northumbria Complex Case Unit of self-styled computer expert and hacker for downloading indecent images of children. Extensive computer forensic expert evidence was required to address issues raised and to negate the possibility of a malicious remote attack on the defendant's computers.
• R v D.C - defended, challenge of no case to answer in paedophile computer imaging prosecution (of an anaesthetic technician) that had been referred to CPS Special Casework by US Department of Homeland Security. Defendant discharged.

He has experience in prominent international casework, and in the prosecution and defence of historic child abuse and serious sexual offences cases:

• R v Nachet (2009) - prosecution of couchsurfing.com rapist. Witnesses were flown in from Hong Kong and Taiwan for the trial and re-trial. Convicted.
• R v R.H - reported at: [2007] EWCA Crim 3250. Defence of city councillor in historic child sexual abuse case with Public Interest Immunity disclosure issues relating to the destruction of materials from past investigations.
• R v B-G - defended in 50 day trial relating to historic sexual abuse of children in Market Weighton de la Salle Order care home. Co-accused was convicted and sentenced to a total of 21 years imprisonment. The diocese is the subject of an £8m compensation claim. Defendant acquitted.
• R v R.S - reported at [2010] EWCA Crim 2743.  Defendant aged 12-15 at time of series of alleged rapes.

Sports-related casework:

• R v Griffin (2010) - prosecution for East Midlands Complex Case Unit of the head of British National Martial Arts Association for theft of funds relating to 60,000 insurance premiums of martial arts instructors and students.
• R v J.B. - Prosecution of participant in international Gumball Rally.

Co-defendant giving evidence for the Crown:

• R v Joyce & others (2010).  Murder prosecution.  One defendant offered to give evidence against her former partner.  All three defendants were convicted, including the principal for murder.
• R v Yaar & another (2009) - Complex Case Unit contract killing murder prosecution, the third trial in a series of multi-handed ‘honour-killing' murder investigations.

Additional Information

Versatility has been a hallmark of his approach to the development of his practice in London and on Circuit.  His professional background, in his first years in practice, was in intellectual property, employment law, restraint of trade, public law, professional negligence, personal injury, inquest, immigration & general common law.

• Coroners & inquests - instructed in road traffic casework.
• Planning - instructed in petrol station premises casework.
• Directors' disqualification - instructed by DTI and in applications in criminal proceedings.
• Media - instructed in relation to police production orders.
• Trained and fraud trial experienced in electronic presentation of evidence.
• Pro Bono work conducted.
• Experienced in conducting seminars (to national firms, regional law society, medico-legal society, and senior police officers).
• Formerly a part-time tutor in contract law to London University LLB students.
• Contributor to Law Commission's consultation exercises in 2009 on Expert Witnesses, and in 2010 on Criminal Liability in Regulatory Contexts.
• Committee member of the Jesters Club, an international squash & rackets club. Captained touring squash teams to Norway (2003), Singapore (2006), Scotland (2010).

Qualifications and Appointments

• Serious Fraud Office list of Queen's Counsel - 2010
• Fee-paid Immigration Judge - 2006
• Attorney General's leader list of Special Advocates - 2005
• Recorder (crime and civil) - 2002
• Member of the Planning and Environment Bar Association (PEBA), and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA)
• Member of the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA), and the Health & Safety Lawyers Association (HSLA), and the Association of Regulatory & Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)
• Member of the North-Eastern Circuit, and also in practice in Leeds
• Basil Nield scholar - Inner Temple
• LLM - Trinity Hall, Cambridge (1^st in Advanced Corporate & Securities Law)
• BA(Hons) - Sussex University