Cobbetts has appointed Paul Matthews as a director to lead the national development of the firm’s regulatory team within the litigation practice. Paul will be based in the Leeds office but will operate across all of the firm’s offices in Manchester, Birmingham and London. Paul joins Cobbetts from the regulatory team at DWF.

Paul specialises in business compliance and corporate defence. Paul will continue his work in advising and representing companies and individuals on regulatory investigations and prosecutions, as well as providing regulatory compliance advice, risk management support, audit and training.

Paul’s experience and expertise cover a wide range of regulatory criminal matters, including health and safety / corporate manslaughter, environmental, food safety, consumer protection, bribery and corruption, as well as other areas of ‘white collar crime’. Paul will work with Cobbetts’ clients operating within the firm’s specialist sector areas such as retail, leisure and hospitality, transport and infrastructure, healthcare, construction, manufacturing, mining and energy.

Nick Carr, partner and head of commercial litigation at Cobbetts, said: “Businesses are subject to ever increasing regulation and ensuring compliance  can be a significant concern. Paul will provide strategic advice and support to our national and international client-base with preventative measures to help keep the regulatory wolf from the door, but also with robust advice and representation during regulatory investigations and prosecutions. We are delighted at Paul’s arrival and the additional expertise that he will provide.”

Paul Matthews said: “The litigation team at Cobbetts has a superb reputation for providing innovative, but pragmatic and straightforward, advice to its clients. The firm as a whole has an enviable client base, operating across all sectors, and are subject to ever more burdensome regulatory compliance and enforcement regimes by dozens of different regulators.

“We understand the pressures that businesses face in balancing the challenges of running a successful business and ensuring regulatory compliance. I look forward to working with the rest of the firm in helping clients with regulatory issues and situations that can be unfamiliar, daunting, and often unexpected for many businesses.”