Claire Watson

Associate

Practice areas

• Environment

Practice notes

Claire Watson is an Associate in the Environment, Health and Safety team, specialising in corporate criminal defence and non-contentious compliance advice.

She has experience defending corporate and individual clients in both the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court, as well as representing properly interested persons at inquests following fatalities in the workplace. Having worked on a number of contentious cases, Claire has defended corporate clients in criminal cases involving Health and Safety legislation breaches, including instances which resulted in fatalities or near misses, and Environmental legislation breaches.

She provides advice across a range of sectors, including the consumer, transport, energy and infrastructure, diversified industrials and health care sectors. Claire provides regulatory compliance advice to clients on a range of matters, such as fire safety, workplace requirements, driving for work and product labelling.

Her recent experience includes assisting with post-incident response in the immediate aftermath of a workplace accident (including initial investigation work and supporting throughout enforcement action), advising manufacturers on product labelling, advising corporate companies on their driving for work policies and defending corporate clients against prosecutions brought by the Health and Safety Executive. She also advises a utilities company on prosecutions brought by local authorities in relation to the provision of safety measurements during street works and reinstatement.

Claire acts as a Legal Adviser to a professional conduct panel, advising the panel on questions of mixed law and fact and matters of practice and procedure. Other projects includes work on high profile public inquiries, representing core participants.

Wider experience to note includes a secondment in the legal department of a retail bank.