Higher Education Today – January 2026
22/01/2026
News and current affairs for those working within Higher Education Institutions
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I am a Legal Director in the Criminal Regulatory department which sits within the Litigation, Advisory & Regulatory team at Bevan Brittan and work in the Birmingham office.
I specialise in health and safety and criminal regulatory law and advise on a wide range of regulatory legal issues including health and safety, building safety, fire safety, product liability, food safety, white collar crime, contentious environmental and transport law. I represent clients (both companies and individuals/directors) at public inquiries, inquests, PACE interviews and in relation to prosecutions and am a solicitor-advocate with higher rights of audience (criminal). I am experienced in managing large scale electronic disclosure / document review exercises using various platforms. I also provide clients with advice on a wide variety of regulatory issues and carry out a large amount of training for them.
I act for a mixture of clients, from large multi-national organisations to individuals, across a wide range of industries, including construction, manufacturing, care, energy, waste, higher education, utilities, retail and charities.
I have worked closely with Louise Mansfield. She provides a no nonsense easy to understand approach making arguments put forward clear with advice on the merits as well as the pitfalls. The guidance and advice is measured and aimed at the non-legal person’s understanding.
I am ranked in the legal directories for health and safety work as a Next Generation Partner. I have a Masters’ degree in Safety, Health and Environmental Law, I am a Management Committee member of the Birmingham Health, Safety & Environment Association (BHSEA) and I am also vice-chair of governors at a local junior school.
Having direct access to Louise Mansfield for all health and safety and construction advice makes such a huge difference to getting matters resolved.
The personal attention from Louise and her support teams is comforting and unique in my experience of working with other companies on similar topics.
Louise Mansfield was exceptional.
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- Advising a hospital trust following an incident involving serious injuries that were caused to nearby pedestrians by the downwash of an emergency helicopter.
- Advising a housing association following the death of a worker who died following exposure to a toxic adhesive he was using to lay floor tiles.
- Advising a waste management company in relation to the risk of fires at household waste recycling centres.
- Advising an energy company following the discovery of a large amount of asbestos on land it was developing.
- Acting for a University in the appeal of a fire safety enforcement notice.
- Advising a number of housing, construction and local authority clients in relation to its duties for its property portfolios, including around fire and building safety and statutory compliance.
- Representing a global infrastructure company following a fatal accident on one if its sites where it was the principal contractor. The client was found not guilty after a trial.
- Representing another leading international construction group in relation to three serious accidents it had over a 6 month period, which involved two fatalities and two people sustaining serious injuries, supporting the internal and HSE investigations and arguing against corporate manslaughter charges.
- Acting for a number of directors in the Inquiry following the Grenfell Tower fire and managing the e-disclosure evidence review.
- Involvement in the investigations / inquiry into the treatment and death of patients of Dr Paterson who performed inappropriate or unnecessary procedures and operations on hundreds of patients over a period of more than 20 years.
- Defending a health and safety consultancy in a fire safety prosecution. The case was withdrawn and the client found not-guilty before the trial even started.
- Representing a railway maintenance contractor in an investigation by the British Transport Police, ORR, Network Rail and RAIB following a fatal accident to its safety manager on the railway.
- Assisting to manage a document review on behalf of the Danish Government using an e-disclosure platform (Relativity) on the largest piece of legislation in Europe. This has been on-going for 5 years.
- Representing a manufacturer following a fatal accident. Following an inquest and legal submissions, the HSE was persuaded that it did not need to prosecute the client and no further action was taken.
- Representing a well-known gas and electric company in two cases following allegations about dangerous roadworks. In one the company was praised for its management of safety and only fined £8,000 (the Prosecution had suggested the fine should be £2.4million) and in the other, the case was withdrawn.
- Managing a document review exercise using an e-disclosure platform (Relativity) in relation to liability following the 2018 fire that destroyed the Glasgow School of Art.
- Representing a number of Universities through inquest proceedings following the deaths of students.
- Representing an airport in relation to a HSE investigation after a worker was run over on the airfield. The HSE have confirmed that they will not be taking any further action.
- Managing document reviews using an e-disclosure platform (Relativity) in relation to corporate manslaughter prosecutions (acting for the corporate defendants).
- Acting for a number of highway maintenance contractors following fatal accidents on the road, representing them at inquests and in relation to police investigations.
Louise Mansfield is knowledgeable, sensible and commercial.
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Louise Mansfield has provided excellent service to time and within budget. She has supported ad-hoc queries, communicated on timelines and challenges well, and delivered a quality product. This good service is combined with a personable and professional approach making the client feel supported.
Louise's areas of expertise
- Energy
- Estate Management
- Higher Education
- Infrastructure
- Highways
- Manufacturing
- Resources & Waste
- Criminal Regulatory
- Environmental
- Building & Fire Safety
- Health and Safety
- Investigations & Inquiries
- Product Safety
- Police Investigations – Corporate Manslaughter and Gross Negligence Manslaughter
- Facilities Management