Jim is a Consultant in the Licensing & Gambling and Regulatory teams.
Having been a judge, prosecutor and defender, Jim knows how to examine a case from every perspective to find the best defence for his clients before a criminal prosecution or disciplinary proceedings. He has defended clients facing charges as diverse as assault, road traffic offences, pollution, health and safety law, trading standard, manslaughter and fraud.
Jim also advises on regulatory matters, such as alcohol and public entertainment licences, and defends commercial clients in prosecutions by regulators such as the Environment Agency or Health & Safety Executive. Experienced in planning law, Jim acts for landowners and property developers in regard to local plans and planning appeals.
Jim is a Criminal Court Deputy District Judge and a Deputy Traffic Commissioner.
Recent examples of how Jim has supported clients include:
- ensuring the acquittal and thereby preserving the career of a French lorry driver who unwittingly transported a number of illegal immigrants into the UK;
- acting as an advocate at a planning enquiry for a rural landowner who sought to get planning permission for housing on some agricultural buildings;
- supporting and defending the directors of a care home operator when one of their residents, a patient of the local Mental Health Trust, was found dead on the premises;
- supporting a university college through an investigation by the Health & Safety Executive following a fatality on the premises; and
- preserving the career of a senior member of the military, by clearing his name and obtaining an acquittal from a charge of assault.