The interviews, Ben Compton QC versus Tessa van den Ende

MAGNA

CHARTA The 11 Questions edition

ISSUU 48 APRIL 2017

Ben Tessa Compton QC van den Ende v e r s u s

Barrister at Outer Temple Chambers

Lawyer at Nysingh Advocaten

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Tessa van den Ende Ben Compton QC

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Content

page 12 Who’s Ben Compton

page 16

Who’s Tessa van den Ende

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11 QuestionS from Tessa to Ben page

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Ben Compton QC Ben Compton QC is a specialist advocate in health and safety renowned for his extensive experience in civil and criminal cour ts, subsequent appeals at the Cour t of Appeal, and the Supreme Cour t, together with jur y inquests throughout the UK. He is recognised as one of the countr y’s leading health & safety law barristers, ranked in Band 1 by Chambers & Par tners, and in 2015 he was awarded the accolade of “Health & Safety Silk of the Year” at the Chambers & Par tners Bar Awards, having been shor tlisted in 2014.

The vast majority of Ben’s health and safety practice is spent representing corporate defendants and company directors and employees in complex workplace accidents, which result in fatalities or serious injuries. His clients have included some of the countr y’s leading, corporations, retailers, construction companies, care homes, leisure companies and public bodies.

Ben has been involved in many of the highest profile health & safety cases of recent years, including; the Lyme Bay canoeing tragedy, the Pescado, the Copthorne legionella case, Potters Bar, the Tebay and the Hednesford rail crashes.

In 2008 Ben appeared in the House of Lords in

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Chargot; widely viewed as the most impor tant case on health and safety in the last decade because of its analysis of risk and what the prosecution have to prove as par t of their prima facie case. The following year he appeared in the Cour t of Appeal in EGS Ltd, which added fur ther clarification to the Chargot ruling.

In 2012, Ben represented the War wickshire Fire and Rescue Ser vices in the Atherstone on Stour Fire tragedy, following the deaths of four fire fighters in a warehouse blaze – and the proper ty refurbishment company in the Lakanal House Inquest, where six residents died.

Some of his more recent high profile cases include acting for Beko PLC at the inquest concerning fridge freezer fires in London, the Sterecycle explosion in Rotherham, the double fatality in the apple store on the Earl of Sebourne’s estate, the Linley Developments Ltd, corporate manslaughter, and the death of a young deck hand on the Woolwich ferr y. He has substantial experience in defending cases under the new sentencing guidelines (Travis Perkins, Parker Hannifin etc) and is currently instructed for the main defendant in the Bath lorr y driver crash (manslaughter) and the project manager in the Hanover Square window collapse (manslaughter).

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We provide bespoke legal services for solicitors, in-house counsel, professional clients and private individuals. Our success is built on sound legal advice and effective problem solving, focused wholly on the individual needs of our clients. Our success has been recognised in the legal trade directories.

Fostered by an open and diverse culture that makes us easy to work with, we have barristers spanning all levels of expertise. Many are highly respected leaders in their respective fields.

Three important qualities combine to make our Chambers greater than the sum of its individual parts: Service Quality We put you, our client, at the centre of everything we do. We never forget that it’s your case, or your client’s case. We take care to understand your precise needs and work with you to make the experience of taking legal action as painless and stress-free as possible.

Open Ethos We are a modern progressive chambers with a supportive, collegiate ethos. We aim to be open, friendly, and approachable and to treat everyone with tolerance and respect.

Forward Thinking Focusing on the future rather than relying on past reputation helps us to do the best for our clients. We constantly seek to build on our expertise, innovate, and embrace change in the legal world.

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Tessa van den Ende Tessa (1973) begon haar loopbaan als advocaat bij Loyens & Loeff in 2000 in Rotterdam. In 2005 maakte zij de overstap voor de liefde naar Nysingh advocaten-notarissen.

Daar is zij sinds 2009 verbonden als par tner gezondheidszorg. Tessa is voorzitter van de sectie gezondheidszorg en voorzitter van de Marktgroep Zorg. Tessa werkt samen met een team van specialisten gericht op de zorg.

Zij houdt zich als advocaat uitsluitend bezig met de zorg en adviseer t en procedeer t voor zorgverzekeraars, zorgaanbieders en zorgverleners. Onder werpen zijn divers en bestrijken het gehele stelsel van de zorg, zoals het

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begeleiden van fusietrajecten, samenwerkingen, governance, k waliteit van zorg, zorginkoop, materiĂŤle controles e.a. Meer in het bijzonder kan uit haar praktijk worden genoemd de begeleiding en advisering van zorginstellingen bij trajecten met de Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit en de Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg en alles wat daar bij komt kijken.

Zij is redacteur en auteur van de uitgave Tekst & Commentaar Gezondheidsrecht uitgave * en ** (Kluwer), redacteur van het tijdschrift Gezondheidszorg Jurisprudentie (Sdu) en redacteur van het tijdschrift Zorg en Recht in Praktijk (ZIP) (Sdu). Regelmatig verzorgt zij voordrachten en lezingen en publiceer t zij.

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Nysingh is een full service advocaten-notarissen kantoor en een hoogwaardige juridische dienstverlener voor bedrijven, instellingen en overheden. Vanuit Arnhem, Apeldoorn en Zwolle werken circa 90 specialisten voor cliënten binnen en buiten de regio. Onze juristen hebben de kennis en ervaring die nodig is om elke juridische uitdaging aan te gaan. Omdat juridische vragen zelden beperkt blijven tot één rechtsgebied, werken de specialisten van Nysingh hecht samen. Die intensieve samenwerking stelt ons in staat snel en slagvaardig op te treden. Zo zijn wij partner in business voor al onze cliënten. Met gebundelde expertise en een branchegerichte focus adviseren wij met name sectoren als: Overheid, Zorg, Food & Agri, Onderwijs, Handel en Industrie, Insurance Vastgoed en Bouw, Familiebedrijven, Innovatie, Design & Fashion, Duurzaamheid & Energie Onze visie In de steeds complexer wordende samenleving hebben bedrijven, instellingen en overheden behoefte aan juridische begeleiding en duidelijkheid. Het aantal terreinen waarop deze behoefte zich manifesteert neemt sterk toe. Nysingh is voor haar klanten de juridische partner. Zowel klanten die gespecialiseerde kennis zoeken als klanten die een juridisch totaalaanbod wensen kiezen voor onze expertise. In de regio zijn we marktleider. In de nationale markt zijn we in deelmarkten een top-10 speler. Wij bereiken dit door marktgericht te opereren en klantgericht en proactief te handelen met optimale samenwerking tussen de verschillende afdelingen en expertises. Daarnaast zorgen ervoor wij dat we tot de beste werkgevers binnen de branche behoren.

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QuestionS Tessa van den Ende asks Ben Compton 11 questions about being a Barrister.

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01

What did you want to do as a profession when you were a child?

I wanted to be a racehorse vet as I rode horses a lot –unfortunately I wasn’t v good at the sciences.

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Why you choose to become a barrister and not a sollicitor?

The barrister presents the case and argues the issues. Ultimately he/she has the control. It is a more glamorous but risky existence!

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Can you explain us the most significant differences between a barrister and a sollicitor?

If you have a bad cold you go to your doctor – if it is more serious he may recommend a specialist. Similarly we are the specialist advocates in law in our chosen subjects.

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You are a barrister with the Outer Temple Chambers in London.

In the Netherlands our judicial system does not distinguish between lawyers and barristers. I am a lawyer and barrister ‘in one’.

How does one become a barrister and later on, ‘silk’?

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Lawyer is a generic term for barrister/ solicitor. See the distinction above. Training for the Bar (as a barrister) is a different course from solicitor. We concentrate more on advocacy skills. When sufficiently senior (15 yrs call) and experienced you may apply to become a QC (you need 12 cases of importance and legal complexity together with 6 judicial references and 6 other legal references). You apply to become a Queen’s Counsel (will become King’s Counsel when Charles succeeds the throne) and then you have to go through a detailed assessment course and attend an interview.

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Your team has a longstanding and distinguished reputation in the field of health and safety. Â { for Saul in the field of employment law} Do you remember your first case in that area and what was it about?

My first case in H&S was for a timber company in Wales where an employee had been killed operating a dangerous machine. In those days the fines were far lower (the company was fined 50,000 pounds) , now it would be in the millions.

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What are the main qualities of a brilliant lawyer/barrister?

Hard work and the need to be articulate but above all judgement and an ability to connect with judges and juries.

Is there a case with a special importance for you. For example because you were the barrister of a specific precedent was created?

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I appeared in the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court) in a case called Chargot which has been the most important case in the last decade in H&S by defining what the prosecution must prove as part of its prima facie case before the burden switches to the defendant company to show that it has taken all reasonably practicable steps when an accident has occurred.

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Is there a specific subject (an article or case law) in labour law / Health and safety which you would like to be changed?

I would like some of the EC directives e.g the machinery regs to be made more user friendly as at the moment they are completely indigestible for a normal company!

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Are there important consequences regarding labour law / health law  attached to the Brexit out of Europe?

Brexit will not affect UK H&S law in any material way. The cornerstone of out H&S is the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974 supported by a number of subordinate regulations.

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Have you had any experiences with duth law or dutch attorneys at law?

If so, what was remarkable in those situations?What is the importance of MAGNA CARTA to you?

No experience of Dutch law although I have represented Dutch companies and individuals. The importance of Magna Carta cannot be underestimated to the British people as it established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, even the king, and guarantees the rights of

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individuals, the right to justice and the right to a fair trial.

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If you could change one article regarding procedural law which article would you change and why?

I would continue to modernize the Court’s approach to young witnesses (particularly in sexual abuse cases) to have all the interviews and cross examination videoed and completed before the trial and then played to a jury. So the victim would not be required to attend court.

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Magna Charta magazine is een uitgave van: Academie voor de Rechtspraktijk Jaargang 3 Citeerwijze: MagnaCM, 2017-48 Redactie: Etienne van Bladel Sharon Olivier van Genderen Ontwerp en realisatie: Mark Pollema Manon van Roosmalen Melanie Hament Eline van Roosmalen Behoudens door de auteurswet gestelde uitzonderingen mag niets uit deze uitgave verveelvoudigd of openbaar gemaakt zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever.

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