Valerie Charbit
Call: 1992
Personal profile
Valerie Charbit is a senior barrister with a practice focused on inquests, public inquiries and health and safety law, particularly where proceedings engage systemic failure, regulatory scrutiny and the care and protection of vulnerable individuals. She is widely instructed by families, public bodies, and corporate entities in complex, high-profile matters, especially where criminal, regulatory and coronial issues intersect.
Valerie has extensive experience representing core participants and interested persons in inquests and statutory inquiries, including large multi‑handed proceedings involving deaths in state detention, healthcare settings and regulated environments. Her work frequently involves Article 2 ECHR inquests, complex causation issues, scrutiny of institutional decision‑making and the examination of expert medical, psychiatric and technical evidence.
She has been instructed in a number of major public inquiries and high‑profile inquests, including the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the Lampard Inquiry. Valerie is particularly well regarded for her forensic analysis of disclosure, her strategic approach to questioning professionals and senior decision‑makers, and her sensitive but robust advocacy on behalf of bereaved families.
Alongside her inquiry and coronial practice, Valerie has a long‑established specialism in health and safety and regulatory law. She regularly appears in cases arising from fatal and serious incidents in healthcare, custodial, construction and industrial settings. Alongside her defence work she is also appointed as a Grade A advocate on the Attorney General’s Panel of Specialist Regulatory Counsel. Her work spans investigations, inquests, criminal prosecutions and professional discipline proceedings, enabling her to advise clients comprehensively on parallel and sequential risk.
Valerie also offers expertise in non-judicial case resolution, and is a qualified mediator for civil cases. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Valerie also accepts instructions in cases alleging serious criminal and fraud offences, acting for both defendants and the Prosecution. She is appointed as a Grade 4 CPS Panel Advocate (the highest tier), the Specialist Rape and Serious Crime Panels, and Panel A for the Serious Fraud Office. She is frequently instructed in matters involving complex intersections between criminal liability, regulatory enforcement and professional accountability.
Since 2004 Valerie has sat as a part‑time Judge of the First‑tier Tribunal (Mental Health), specialising in child and adolescent cases (CAMHS). Since 2023, she has also sat as a part‑time Assistant Coroner at West London Coroner’s Court, bringing a detailed practitioner’s insight into coronial law, procedure and judicial decision‑making.
Valerie is Chair of the Regulatory Practice Group at Red Lion Chambers and serves as Chambers’ Wellbeing Director. She has held senior wellbeing roles within the Criminal Bar Association and the South Eastern Circuit and was a longstanding member of the Bar Council’s wellbeing working group. She is co‑founder of the Kindness Project, promoting professional standards and best practice across the Bar.
She is an experienced trainer in ethics, advocacy and vulnerable witness handling, regularly delivering training for Middle Temple and circuit‑wide programmes. She has undertaken training in trauma-informed advocacy. Valerie’s practice is underpinned by a commitment to meticulous preparation, strategic clarity and effective advocacy in the most demanding and sensitive proceedings.
Recommendations
― Chambers & Partners (2026)Valerie is a superb inquest advocate and is able to provide strong, commercial advice while also putting clients at ease.
― Chambers UK (2025)Valerie Charbit is an incredibly experienced practitioner. She is particularly strong with healthcare matters and coroner's inquests. She is tenacious but always full of common sense.
― Chambers & Partners (2026)She provides a superb service.
― Chambers UK (2025)Valerie is outstanding in health and safety matters.
― Legal 500 (2026)Valerie is experienced and persuasive with judges and tribunals.
― Legal 500Valerie is an experienced health & safety advocate and has a long and successful track record in this field. She is meticulous in her case preparation and is excellent with clients. Clients watching her in court, never fail to express how impressed they are.
― Chambers UKAn extremely talented barrister. She is very hard-working, focused and good at getting to the heart of a case. A robust advocate who knows her cases inside and out.
― Legal 500A deep thinker, and committed, robust and fearless advocate.
Inquests & Inquiries
Inquests:
Valerie specialises in representing interested parties in inquest proceedings. She can be instructed on a direct access basis for families or the bereaved.
Valerie has represented health authorities and NHS providers for deaths in healthcare settings. She has considerable experience in mental health. She is experienced in Article 2 inquests.
Her breadth of experience in mental health, criminal cases and professional disciplinary proceedings and as a coroner means she is well placed to represent interested parties and advise on coronial law including on any prevention of future death report.
She has experience in the following inquests:
- Workplace deaths
- Deaths involving mental health issues
- Deaths in hospital or care settings
- Deaths in custody
- Deaths caused by fire
- Road traffic collisions
- Suicide
Inquiries:
Valerie specialises in acting for Core Participants in Inquiries. She represented a Core Participant in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and she is currently representing a Core Participant in the Lampard Inquiry.
Her breadth of experience and knowledge in inquiries, criminal cases, mental health, professional disciplinary proceedings and coronial law means she is an excellent choice to instruct and represent core participants in complex inquiries.
She has over 30 years experience in prosecuting and defending in complex criminal cases with vast amounts of material and complicated disclosure issues.
Health & Safety
Valerie has extensive experience in health and safety cases, both prosecuting and defending. She is often instructed to prosecute by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities in respect of fatalities and other breaches of health and safety legislation.
Her clients have included companies, NHS trusts, local authorities, the Health and Safety Executive, and the Office of Road and Rail, as well as individuals including directors and trustees. Valeries appointed to the A list of Special Regulatory Advocates in Health & Safety and Environmental Law.
Examples of Valerie’s work include cases involving fire, gas and chemical explosions, falls from height, electrocution, exposure to asbestos and basement collapse. She has been instructed in cases involving fatalities or serious injury on construction sites, care homes, hospitals, factories, railways, shops and a bus station.
Valerie has been involved with several cases involving retailers. She has advised and defended a large high street retailer in relation to food safety and other offences. She has also acted in a case concerning the death of a child in a retail setting.
She is currently instructed in the Lampard Inquiry and she was previously instructed in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry for a core participant.
She has been a speaker at the Health and Safety Lawyers Association Annual Conference.
Professional Discipline
Valerie is highly experienced in Professional Discipline work. Her varied practice means she is particularly well-placed to advise where civil and criminal law intersect, such as in professional disciplinary proceedings. She has defended solicitors, dentists, pharmacists and teachers before their regulators.
One recent example saw her defending a pharmacist accused of supplying a vast amount of Class C drugs, before the disciplinary committee of the General Pharmaceutical Council. She represented in both criminal and regulatory proceedings.
She has an in-depth understanding of the decision-making process for different regulators, and a wealth of experience with disciplinary committees.
She is appointed to act as a legal adviser/assessor for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
She is available for instruction before the General Dental Council, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the General Pharmaceutical Council, the Teaching Regulation Agency, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, having defended in a number of cases.
Crime
Valerie has over 30 years’ experience defending and prosecuting serious criminal cases, and has appeared in many complex, multi-party proceedings.
She has prosecuted and defended in many cases involving children and family members, and has extensive experience in handling vulnerable witnesses and defendants, where she utilises her detailed knowledge of mental health issues (including the impact of trauma on vulnerable witnesses in such cases).
Valerie has a particular interest and specialism in mental health, and a profound understanding of the mental health problems faced by witnesses and defendants.
She has many years’ experience of questioning mental health professionals on the most serious cases in the Crown Court, and in proceedings before the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health).
She assisted in drafting the response to the Government’s consultation on unfitness to plead on behalf of the Criminal Bar Association and the Bar Council.
Valerie has responded on behalf of the South Eastern Circuit and Criminal Bar Association to the Crown Prosecution Service and Sentencing Council’s consultations on proposed guideline for sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmenent disorders, or neurological impairments.
She is appointed to the CPS Grade 4 (top tier) list for prosecution advocates, and is an expert in vulnerable witness advocacy, regularly delivering training on topic – including having been the lead trainer for the South Eastern Circuit.
Valerie is experienced in cases that require an intermediary.
Her civil mediation training compliments her approach to working pragmatically in all her cases.
Fraud
Valerie is appointed to the Panel A list for the Serious Fraud Office and has over 30 years experience prosecuting and defending in serious fraud cases. She has been instructed by the Insolvency Service to prosecute company directors and those who have been disqualified as directors. She has prosecuted in benefit fraud and charity fraud cases. She has defended directors, bankers, solicitors and accountants.
She is skilled in dealing with vast amounts of evidence and adept at handling material in large-scale disclosure exercises. Her attention to detail, diligent and thorough preparation, and specialism in cross-examining expert witnesses (across a broad spectrum of disciplines) makes her a compelling advocate for her clients in such cases.
Bribery & Corruption
Valerie has represented solicitors, company directors, police officers and civilian officers charged with misconduct in public office, or perverting the course of justice.
Professional Appointments
- Part-time First Tier Tribunal Judge (Mental Health) and appointed as a Child and Adolescent Mental Health panel member of the Tribunal
- Part-time Assistant Coroner for West London Coroner’s Court
- Appointed to Grade A of Specialist Regulatory Advocates in Health and Safety and Environmental Law
- SFO Panel Advocate (A List)
- CPS Panel Advocate (General Crime) (Grade 4)
- CPS Specialist Panel Advocate (Serious Crime) (Grade 4) and Fraud (Grade 4)
- CPS Panel Advocate (RASSO) (Grade 4)
- Legal Adviser to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (2017 – present)
- Legal Adviser to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (2012 – present)
- Legal Assessor to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2009 – present
- Approved Advocacy Trainer and Ethics Trainer for Middle Temple (2012 – present)
- Director/Board member of Inclusion London (2015 – present)
- Legal Assessor to the General Osteopathic Council (2015–2022)
- Legal Adviser to the General Pharmaceutical Council (2014–2019)
Previous appointments
- Member of the Bar Council wellbeing working group (2015 – 2023)
- Lead Facilitator for Vulnerable Witness Advocacy Training, South Eastern Circuit (2017 – 2021)
- Wellbeing Director of the Criminal Bar Association (2017-2021)
- Recorder of the South Eastern Circuit. (2015–2017)
Memberships
- Criminal Bar Association
- South Eastern Circuit
- Health and Safety Lawyers Association
- Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers
- Mentavl Health Lawyers Association
- The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators