Your challenges
The role and responsibilities of regulators of the professions are many and complex. Among the most significant are: the strident demands from the public to maintain the highest of standards; the siren calls from registrants to keep the costs of practising low; and the political pressure to ensure that barriers to entry to the profession are removed.
Satisfying the competing demands of ensuring that public confidence is maintained and the engagement and support of professionals secured, while at the same time staying within a reasonable budget is the single greatest challenge.
Achieving your ambitions
Our specialist professional regulatory team has acted for the “prosecution” or defence in a number of regulatory environments. We have particular experience acting for the General Dental Council, the General Medical Council, the Institute for Learning and the General Chiropractic Council.
We have developed a case management system, which we can tailor to our clients’ specific needs. This means that our team of specialist lawyers can cope efficiently with any scale of investigation and case – for example we acted for the prosecution in an NHS fraud case involving almost 50 witnesses.
When acting for regulators, we are acutely aware that our actions as your advisers reflect on you. Our skill in witness handling and extensive dealings with registrants means that you can be sure that your profile as a sensitive regulator will be enhanced without diminishing your reputation for firmly maintaining the highest standards within the profession your regulate.
The strength you need
We have a team of lawyers at differing levels of qualification, but all specialists in professional regulatory work. By ensuring that we carry out your work at the appropriate level, we can deliver a cost effective service. However we do not compromise on quality. Our practice is partner led and all substantial work and correspondence is overseen by senior, qualified lawyers.
We are not simply fitness to practise experts. Our team also includes lawyers specialising in public law, equality and discrimination and judicial review and, of course, we are able to call upon the wealth of other experience within the firm.
In preparing your case, our lawyers pride themselves in taking a proactive approach. We anticipate all eventualities and procedural requirements and, like any great snooker player, we are thinking at least “six shots ahead.”
Lawyers you can trust
Fiona Hawker (consultant) and Kevin Duce (associate) are both rated in Chambers UK. As advocates, team members are praised for the thoroughness of their preparation and their assured presentation. Legal 500 describes our regulatory practice as "responsive, practical and client focused".
Several members of the team provide legal assessor support to the committees and panels of professional regulators. Also acting for the defence in regulatory proceedings, we are able to give our clients the benefit of our 360 degree experience of the regulatory process.