Professional Disciplinary and Regulatory

Helping you protect your reputation

Our experienced team of defence laywers have a proven track record of managing a wide range of regulatory and professional disciplinary matters from initial complaint or investigation through to full scale proceedings before Fitness to Practise Panels.

We are here for you should you need a Fitness to practise defence lawyer.  We offer practical and straightforward advice when you need it most and a dedicated client focussed service. Our robust and skilled approach is committed to protecting your registration and your reputation. We can take the pressure and stress away leaving you to get on with your practice.  Many Professional do not seek the help they need either through fear of cost or shame of the proceedings or mistakenly believing they are not entitled to representation by a lawyer. Statistics show that too many appear unrepresented in disciplinary proceedings where their career is on the line.

Our objective quite simply is to enable you to continue doing what you are good at.

Our Services Extend Across The UK, from a central base in Derbyshire

For an initial discussion with no obligation- please contact Rachel Buckley  . All calls are confidential.

We handle matters involving professional bodies across the board, including:

• General Medical Council
• General Pharmaceutical Council 
• Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Health Professions Council
• General Teaching Council
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• Financial Services Authority
• General Optical Council
• General Dental Council
• Solicitors Regulation Authority

Professional Disciplinary involves a wide range of issues from clinical competence to professional misconduct either inside or outside of work. This in turn covers a whole variety of issues including:

• Drink driving
• Possession of illegal substances
• Dishonesty
• Forgery of documents
• Breaches of the Working Time Regulations
• Allegations of sexual impropriety
• Breaches of professional codes of conduct.
• Complex and sensitive medical issues
• Health impairment.

Our Service

We can provide legal defnce, help and advice whatever the stage of proceedings:

• Interview by employer or at the police station
• Trust disciplinary/investigation
• Inspection/audit
• Before Interim Orders panels
• Investigation Committee
• Adjudication or final hearings before a Fitness to Practise/Conduct and Competence Committee.
• We deal with hearings where sanctions may be threatened or reviews where conditions or suspensions have already been imposed.

We can also provide assistance to those seeking Registration or appealing against refusal of registration. We can also help  students experiencing difficulties involving fitness to practise. 

It is often the case that one investigation by an employer will trigger a separate enquiry by your regulatory body and you may need our help particularly if you have no cover from an appropriate defence union.  We are used to dealing with matters running simultaneously, so the important thing is to get help early so that your interests can be protected.  We advise never to try and deal with it on your own.

Funding issues

Do you have union cover? Legal Expenses Cover?

It is common for professionals to seek advice and assistance from their union in the first instance but sometimes there are limitations on the extent of advice and assistance available. Often the union can make it problematic for a professional to seek their own independent solicitor of choice. Union or insurance company panel solicitors are often busy and over worked and may not have a specialism in the area in question.

It is important to note that the Insurance Companies ( Legal Expenses Insurance ) Regulations 1990 provide that insured persons should be free to select a solicitor of their own choice. Insurance contracts often stipulate that this cover is only available or can be exercised only where legal proceedings have actually been issued. It is sometimes extended to the period before then when investigations or enquiries are underway. Guidance from the Financial Ombudsman is such that insured persons should be free to request a solicitor of their own choosing where cases are complex or involve particularly difficult or sensitive issues or which involve employment disputes.

We can guide you further in relation to this aspect if you think you might be able to receive assistance in funding your legal advice and representation from us.

We will tailor our service to meet your most pressing needs whilst keeping an eye on  your budget.  With this in mind,  we can often offer you a fixed fee. It may be you need full representation to deal with an interview or hearing/Tribunal, or it It may be limited to advice and assistance in drafting responses or submissions, but whatever you need we'll be here for you every step of the way.

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