DAC Beachcroft LLP's Leeds practice mixes insurance and direct commercial work, advising clients in both a reactive capacity, representing clients following serious and fatal accidents, and in an advisory role. Construction remains a sector of particular expertise, being the subject of regular training undertaken by the team, but the firm has capabilities that extend to a range of other industries. Chris Baranowski heads both the teams in Leeds and the regulatory practice for the firm nationwide, with corporate manslaughter and health and safety investigations being his primary focus. Matthew Breakell leads the national work in relation to commercial clients, training being a particular strength.

DLA Piper provides clients with a full service offering, with strong capabilities across defence, acquisitions and divestments, advisory work, and policy-related mandates. The firm is able to draw upon an array of expert defence lawyers, such as Leeds-based senior associate Simon Tingle, to assist clients in defending high-profile prosecutions, while other team member such as Alistair Clough specialise in the health and safety implications of major transactions, leveraging knowledge of complex corporate structures, due diligence, and liabilities. Teresa Hitchcock heads the Sheffield practice in addition to the national health and safety team, regularly working on matters with a global dimension and leading on major inquests.

DWF undertakes the most serious mandates concerning fatal accidents for a range of leading insurers and key corporate clients, and has a growing focus on major public inquiries in which the firm often takes a leading role. Mark Thompson sits at the helm of the Leeds-based practice with a focus on advising corporate directors and other individuals prosecuted for regulatory breaches, and also is also responsible for developing of the firm’s crisis response service. David Chant and Lauren Slater are noted for their work in health and safety matters relating to transport.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP advises clients on both contentious and non-contentious health and safety matters, representing clients in prosecutions brought by the HSE, police, and local authorities, and undertaking proactive compliance work across the energy, rail, and construction industries. The firm's international footprint is another asset for the team, with a strong track record in both APAC and Hong Kong, and a capacity to undertake cross-jurisdictional mandates. Paul Verrico leads the team in Leeds, operating a deep-dive insights programme into potential risks faced by clients across the energy, education, and events sectors, while also having extensive experience in handling high-profile prosecutions.

Walker Morris LLP has a strong offering across advisory, litigation, and transactional work, with an established track record in cross-jurisdictional mandates alongside major global law firms. In addition to capabilities in litigation, an focus of the team is the prevention of prosecution, with the practice noted for being ‘good at dealing with regulators’. The ‘outstanding’ Stuart Ponting heads the team, working with a number of notable international and domestic businesses across the construction, demolition, food, and retail sectors. Senior associate Rachel Turnbull brings her experience working for a regulator to provide insights for clients.

Addleshaw Goddard instructs a number of high-profile clients across a range of sectors, with strengths in transport, healthcare, utilities, and retail. Crisis management has been an area of growing activity for the firm, with an increasingly volume of inquests, inquiries, prosecutions, and compliance, and the changes to building safety being a particular focus. The Leeds team is headed up by Stuart Wardlaw, who has his experience in advising clients across industrial, commercial, and public services. Wardlaw works closely with national head Erin Shoesmith with her track record in public inquests.

CMS has specialist knowledge in high-risk sectors, namely waste, energy, construction, real estate, transport, and manufacturing, and otherwise covers the full scope of health and safety matters. The practice has experience working with the firm's transactional team, and has an established track record in product safety and fire and building safety matters. The practice is 'ably led by the astute partner Lukas Rootman' in Sheffield, and he frequently represents clients at all stages of HSE and Environment Agency investigations, with particular experience in advising on cladding and fire safety in the real estate space.

Weightmans operates across the public, commercial, charity, sports, manufacturing, and insurance sectors, advising clients on inquests and other contentious mandates, in addition to providing training and other advisory services. The firm operates separate teams to handle environmental and business crime, which the Leeds office can leverage, in addition to the wider firm’s national offering to assist clients. David Lewis heads the team as well as acting as the national regulatory practice head, with experience working for both household names in the private sector and major public bodies.

Clarion provides a range of services for a number of major national clients, with capabilities across training, compliance, diagnostics, and audit work, in addition to a strong track record in contentious matters. Paul Matthews has joined the firm as the new practice head from DWF in September 2022, bringing his extensive experience in high-profile mandates as the head of the regulatory team there. He works alongside Lucy Alderson, who has the benefit of a secondment with a major retailer.

Operating out of Leeds, Gateley Legal has particular strengths in fatal and major accidents, with capabilities in crisis management for such instances. It has an established presence in a number of sectors, namely housebuilding, but also construction more generally, transport, utilities, food, and retail. Ruth Armstrong heads the national practice, while Pauline Munro operates out of Leeds, working with major corporate clients regarding fatal accidents and compliance issues.

At Kennedys, a focus of the Sheffield office is fatal or near-fatal accidents, encompassing the crisis management, inquiries, prosecutions, and strategy entailed, with sector focusses on healthcare, including services for those in custody, mining, and the environment. Coronial and inquest law are points of particular expertise for the team that comprises senior associate Marta Tomlinson, who frequently represents corporate and individual clients regarding complex proceedings, and senior associate Kadie Cooper, who advises on the full scope of corporate and gross negligence manslaughter mandates.

rradar acts for a number of insurers and commercial agents in investigations across a range of industries. Stephanie Thirlwell heads the regulatory practice from Leeds, working with a number of individuals and companies in investigations and prosecutions, while Jeff Swales leads the group in Hull with extensive experience handling corporate manslaughter matters, motoring offences, and road haulage. Rupert Nevin similarly has contentious experience, and also assists in crisis management and compliance.