Heath Thomas, Partner, Head of Licensing, Regulatory and Tax and Thames Valley Office,

Expert advice and guidance for a client from Ruth Sheret through an inquest and with insurance difficulties helped them after they witnessed a fatal road accident while driving in Birmingham.

Although the client’s vehicle was not involved, an expert witness called their driving into question at a preliminary inquest hearing 18 months later – allegations which could have formed the basis of a compensation claim after the inquest if left unchallenged. The client’s insurer also refused a claim, leaving the client exposed to the risk of paying compensation out of their own pocket.

Ruth represented the client at the final inquest hearing.  Following her submissions, the Coroner refused to hear evidence of the expert witness’s allegations, minimising the risk to the client.

Ruth also persuaded the insurers that their initial refusal to accept our client’s claim was incorrect – the insurers paid our client’s legal costs.

The client said: “Ruth Sheret was professional and kind from the moment she contacted me based on my initial query.

She took all details and reassured me based on all facts on my case.

Ruth had very short notice regarding getting evidence from various sources to the time of the inquest. Yet she acted quickly to ensure all information was available and looked over the details. She then explained this back to me in a very clear way, helping me to understand what had happened and what it meant for me. Once I'd given her the details, she took control and sorted everything out.

To make matters more difficult, my insurers said that I was not covered for the incident. I would've just accepted this, yet Ruth had looked through my policy and contacted my insurers on my behalf, stating that I was in fact covered. This was a huge relief as I was going through a highly stressful time and her work in this matter resulted in the insurers admitting that I was in fact covered and reimbursing me.

As well as being incredibly professional and conscientious, Ruth was also incredibly kind and reassuring. This was a very difficult time for me, which had gone on for a long time. Ruth reassured me with her knowledge of the law but was also a caring and empathetic person to be around. I honestly would not have got through it without her. Thank you so much Ruth."

James Leonard, Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers:

“I have been instructed by Jonathan on a number of cases.....which have included prosecutions for corporate manslaughter (one of the first ever mounted under the new legislation) and a considerable number of very serious and high profile fatal accidents and serious injuries sustained in the work place.

In addition he has instructed me to defend drivers on fatal road traffic accident cases which again have included high profile cases of the utmost seriousness.

As someone who practices at the Bar almost exclusively in the area of health and safety and regulatory law … I can say that Jonathan has a well-deserved reputation for being at the top of his professional tree. He has a vast array of legal knowledge and also possesses considerable tactical and strategic acumen in relation to whether or not cases should be defended....”

Change brought about by Brexit to product markings which demonstrate adherence to legal standards presented one international business with a challenge which Kamal Chauhan was able to tackle swiftly, clarifying government guidance and providing reassurance to the firm.

The company, whose subsidiary had been importing tyres from other countries without the EU’s CE marking, needed to know if, in the event of there being no deal agreed by the government and EU before 31 December, they would need to acquire the new UKCA marking which will be required on some products after 1 January 2021.

Kamal was able to assure them that this was not the case, saving them both time and money; their VP said: “Thank you for looking into this and giving a clear steer. Also for recognising the challenges with the myriad of Government guidance that is not always consistent!”

Licensing and regulatory consultant solicitor Stewart Wright passed on his expertise to environmental protection officers in London this month, when he ran a training session on statutory nuisance for the London Borough of Barnet.

Stewart covered the range of nuisances, the legislation, a variety of approaches and the court processes involved.

He had some excellent feedback from participants, who described it as ‘interactive, easily explained’, ‘very thorough and useful’, ‘very informative and delivered excellently’ and ‘interesting and entertaining.’

Sarah Woodall’s tax advice came to the aid of a board member and business owner needing both personal and corporate tax advice.

Jason Wells said: “We approached Sarah with a HMRC tax issue at the eleventh hour. Sarah made herself available by direct contact after hours and was a breath of fresh air under what was a very stressful situation. Her ability to look beyond the issue itself and formulate a direct method gained a result that we couldn’t have been more pleased with. We highly recommend Sarah’s service.”

Accountancy firm Howards Chartered Certified Accountants recently asked Sarah Woodall for urgent advice with a Stamp Duty matter.

The payment of stamp duty had been overlooked by HMRC on a very large transfer of shares going back to 2014. The company was being sold and the vendors faced an enormously disproportionate penalty proposed by the purchasers if the matter was not resolved within 90 days. HMRC had indicated it was impossible to resolve matters within this timeframe.

Sarah’s extensive knowledge of HMRC’s inner workings, key contacts, and her commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for her clients, enabled her to cut through a web of slow and bureaucratic processes, and resolve the issue with HMRC amicably and by agreement within two weeks.

Sarah said: “I had every sympathy for the client. At times, HMRC’s correspondence failed to give email addresses or even a telephone number, and some letters provided telephone numbers that did not exist and excluded the name of the HMRC officer who had sent them.

“It was a big relief to all concerned, including me, that the potential penalty was avoided and that ultimately HMRC did go the extra mile to resolve what had been a really difficult issue.”

Matthew Bailey, Director at Howards, said: “The excellent outcome and time taken to resolve this time pressured issue went well beyond and above our expectations… [settling this matter was] a bright end to a dull day. I thank you from my heart for your help.”

Having worked with Sarah Woodall at HMRC, Jeremy Clarke-Morris, partner at Kendall Wadley accountants, knew she had a unique insight into counter avoidance investigation and systems.

In an Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) disguised remuneration case, he recommended Sarah act in a very large HMRC investigation by their Counter Avoidance and subsequently Fraud Investigation Service (FIS). The investigation settlement agreed was about quarter of £1 million less than would have been the case without Sarah’s relentless challenge- the client expressed delight and relief at the outcome.

Her in depth knowledge of HMRC, EBTs and ERTs ensured the best possible settlement for the client. Jeremy Clarke-Morris said “Our client was delighted. Sarah is highly professional, eloquent and had a very effective, down to earth approach. She is an excellent negotiator.”

Sarah said: “I have enjoyed working with Jeremy for many years and it was my pleasure to advise his client to resolve what was undoubtedly a difficult and long-running HMRC investigation. The client had found the situation stressful. It was satisfying to settle all matters by agreement and without recourse to the tax tribunal, ultimately with a very significant adjustment in the taxpayer’s favour, no penalties and with five years to pay.”

Kamal Chauhan was happy to share his expertise with warehouse managers and staff at Poundland Ltd, so that they will know how to deal with a regulatory investigation or issue.

He gave half a day’s interactive and case-study based training at Head Office, which was warmly welcomed by their Head of Legal Hardeep Atwal, who said: “A big thank you for the session. The feedback has been overwhelming - it was very well received.”

After a highly successful round of crowdfunding, entrepreneurial Herefordshire business A Rule of Tum sought the help of tax barrister Sarah Woodall in order to release half a million pounds of investors’ money.

The award-winning business needed to support its continued growth with increased investment and turned to crowdfunding. Having raised £500,000, advanced clearance from HMRC under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) was then needed to enable Rule of Tum to access the money. (EIS is designed to enable companies to raise money to grow by offering tax relief to individual investors buying new shares in a company.)

Unfortunately, long delays by HMRC and a failure to consider the merits of the case fully cost the business several months, and threatened to undermine investor confidence altogether. In need of urgent help, they turned to Sarah, whose experience of working with HMRC proved invaluable when advocating on business’s behalf.

Sarah’s precise and unequivocal demonstration of A Rule of Tum’s focus, providing members of the public with outstanding simple, locally sourced, seasonal foods in an environmentally sensitive manner, proved pivotal in obtaining clearance from HMRC and protecting the business’s investment which had been at risk.

Director Dorian Kirk said: “Just want to say thanks again for all the extra effort (Sarah) put in to get this over the line. We are utterly delighted.”