EHS
The Team
Richard Voke, Head of Department
Before becoming a solicitor, Richard spent over seven years as an inspector in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), followed by a period as a Senior Risk Management Consultant in the Health Safety and Environment Division of AEA Technology Plc. His experience includes: inspecting; investigating and prosecuting for the HSE; defending HSE and Environment Agency prosecutions; defending personal injury claims; advising organisations on health, safety and the environment both home and abroad. He is a Corporate/Chartered Member of IOSH, Registered Safety Practitioner and has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Toxicology. He is also a qualified Commercial ADR Mediator. Richard recently led the in-house team that achieved ISO 14001, and is an accredited Advanced Environmental Management Systems Auditor.
Contact Richard Voke
Ben Derrington
Ben is a regulatory law solicitor with particular expertise in environmental and health and safety law. He has advised on the defence of prosecutions by the Environment Agency, the Health & Safety executive, DEFRA and Trading Standards. Ben regularly carries out environmental and health & safety due diligence in multi-million pound corporate mergers and acquisitions. He has a Masters’ Degree in Environmental Analysis and Assessment from Imperial College and holds the NEBOSH National Certificate in health & safety.
Georgia Sharples
Before joining the EHS Department in 2007, Georgia obtained a Law degree and completed the Legal Practice Course. She is an experienced health and safety and environmental paralegal providing support in the defence of prosecutions by a range of regulatory bodies including the Health and Safety Executive, Environment Agency, Defra and Trading Standards. Georgia also assists with the environmental and health and safety due diligence in corporate mergers and acquisitions. She has also achieved the NEBOSH National Certificate.
Chris Hopkins
Following five years in the parachute regiment, Chris qualified as a barrister specialising in prosecuting regulatory offences. He completed pupillage in Chambers where he prosecuted and defended in both the Crown and magistrates’ courts. He was later commissioned as an officer in the Royal Air Force where he spent 3 years prosecuting trials by Courts Martial. His RAF experience includes prosecuting aviation offences, fraud, firearms licensing, violence and road traffic offences. In the RAF, Chris regularly advised the Service Police on the conduct of their investigations. He now uses that experience to good effect in the EHS field. He has also achieved the NEBOSH National Certificate.