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  1. Professional discipline
  2. Leading individuals

The ‘leading’ team at Capsticks has a ‘well-deserved reputation for excellence’, and is praised for its ‘good, up-to-date knowledge of regulatory law and issues’. Headed by John Witt, the five-partner team has ‘a wealth of experience’ in the healthcare sector, acting for five out of the nine healthcare regulatory bodies in the UK. Clients include the General Dental Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Chiropractic Council, the General Optical Council, the General Social Care Council, the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Key individuals include the ‘excellent’ Mark Whiting; and Peter Steel, who is ‘able to produce top-quality work within tight deadlines’. Also recommended are Daniel Purcell, Annie Sorbie, Jane Barker, and the ‘conscientious’ Shaun O’Malley.

Led by the ‘very approachable’ Matthew Lohn, the team at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP ‘makes a real effort to get to know a client’s business’, and is ‘friendly and helpful to work with’. Key developments for the firm included winning a competitive tender to conduct fitness-to-practise investigations on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Council. It is also currently advising the GMC on its role and participation in the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry. Mary Timms is ‘excellent’, and Judith Chrystie is ‘very professional’.

RadcliffesLeBrasseur is ‘renowned for its strong healthcare practice’, but also has ‘genuine, first-class and reliable expertise in the field of solicitors/SRA regulation and disciplinary law and process’. It is instructed by medical and defence organisations, and defends healthcare practitioners in disciplinary and regulatory cases, as well as specialising in defence work for solicitors facing disciplinary and regulatory proceedings. Key individuals include the ‘extremely bright’ Alex Leslie; the ‘extremely knowledgeable and charismatic’ Ralph Shipway; Nigel West, who has ‘great experience’; and Richard Privett, who is ‘very able and personable’.

Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP ‘stands out for its depth of experience, consistency in talent, ability, and quality of service’. With a ‘renowned’ healthcare practice, the firm advises clients including Dental Protection, Abbey Legal Protection, the Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians, Vision Express, Boots UK, and the Medical Protection Society. Gary Allison has ‘a wealth of experience and good tactical ability’; Vicki Swanton is ‘first rate’; Juliette Mellman-Jones is ‘an effective lawyer with excellent client-management skills’; and Manchester-based Michael Brown is a ‘clever and analytical lawyer’. Mark Shaw recently joined the firm from Hempsons.

Bevan Brittan LLP’s ‘excellent team’ is led by the ‘renowned’ Iain Miller. It was appointed to advise the Solicitors Regulation Authority in relation to its involvement in the administration of Halliwells. Other notable clients include the Architects Registration Board, the Care Quality Commission, the General Teaching Council for England, and The Law Society.

Key clients for the ‘impressive team’ at Blake Lapthorn include the Association of Accounting Technicians, the Access Dispute Committee, and the General Dental Council. Notable individuals include Christopher Alder, who is ‘highly recommended’; Nick Leale; Southampton-based Stephen Murfitt; and the ‘knowledgeable’ Bradley Albuery, who heads the eight-partner team.

Hempsons fields an ‘excellent’ team headed by the ‘exceptional’ Chris Morris, whose ‘attention to detail’ is ‘first class’. It is experienced in defending general medical practitioners, dental practitioners and optometrists through all stages of the General Medical Council’s, General Dental Council’s and General Optical Council’s procedures. It also represented the Dental Defence Union in a professional conduct committee case before the General Dental Council.

Stephen Parkinson heads a ‘formidable’ team at Kingsley Napley LLP. It is ‘renowned for its expertise’ in the police sector; longstanding clients include the Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association. It also advises clients such as the Health Professions Council, the General Teaching Council and the General Optical Council. John Harding, Julie Norris and Nicola Hill are also recommended.

Key work for the team at Mills & Reeve LLP included successfully repelling four threatened applications for judicial review made against the General Dental Council. It also advised The Law Society in two challenges to its complaints-handling function brought by solicitors where professional service had been found to be inadequate. Ian Mayers heads the team, and Richard Sykes is recommended for his experience in advising educational institutions. Kevin Duce is also recommended.

Praised for its ‘ability to understand the needs of the client’, the team at Penningtons Solicitors LLP continues to advise a range of large regulators across the fields of healthcare, veterinary medicine, law and accountancy, such as the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the General Pharmaceutical Council. The ‘brilliant’ Nicole Curtis was promoted to the partnership in 2010; Katrina Wingfield is an ‘outstanding advocate’; and Geoffrey Hudson’s ‘knowledge and expertise are particularly comforting in complicated disciplinary proceedings’.

Managing director John Williams is recommended at Bankside Law. He has advised the MDU and United Chiropractic Association.

The ‘excellent’ team at Beachcroft is led by the ‘knowledgeable’ Stephen Hocking, and is praised for its ‘good response times’. Key clients include the Chartered Institute of Builders, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, the Family Health Services Appeal Authority, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and the MDU. Christopher Briggs, previously of Halliwells, joined the Manchester team.

The ‘first-rate’ Simon Eastwood heads Eastwoods Solicitors’ three-partner team, which is experienced in representing medical professionals in regulatory and disciplinary matters. It also represents individuals from a variety of other sectors, including sport. Surjit Dubb was recently promoted to the partnership.

Herbert Smith LLP’s ‘outstanding’ team is led by the ‘formidable’ Andrew Lidbetter. With the ability to handle high-profile cases, its client base includes the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the National Lottery Commission, and The Accountancy & Actuarial Disciplinary Board.

Irwin Mitchell LLP’s ‘top-notch’ practice is active in representing professionals from the educational, healthcare, financial and legal sectors. Sheffield-based Andrew Lockley heads the team; and Sarah Wallace in London is also recommended, particularly for her experience in representing individuals facing FSA disciplinary proceedings.

Led by Peter Fitzpatrick, who is ‘strong on tactics’, the team at Nabarro LLP provides ‘consistently high-quality advice’, and is particularly ‘highly regarded in medical and dental discipline’. It advises members of the MDU in regulatory proceedings before the General Medical Council and in disputes with primary care trusts.

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP’s ‘first-rate’ team represents professionals across the areas of financial services, healthcare, accountancy and law. The ‘renowned’ Clare Jaycock heads the medical regulation team; Jonathan Davies and Steven Francis are recognised for their expertise in the financial services sector; and Dorothy Flower is also singled out for praise. Richard Burger was recently promoted to the partnership.

Key clients for the ‘proactive and efficient’ practice at Russell-Cooke LLP include The Law Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Institute of Legal Executives, the Taxation Disciplinary Board, the Architects Registration Board, and the General Dental Council. The ‘massively experienced’ Peter Cadman heads the five-partner team, and is praised as ‘a calm but fierce defender’. Matt Bosworth is ‘very able’.

The ‘first-rate’ Rosemary Rollason heads the team at Russell Jones & Walker, whose clients include the General Optical Council and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. It is currently instructed by numerous families in relation to the coroner’s inquests into the 7/7 London bombings. Rod Fletcher is also recommended.

Led by Tom Cassels, who has ‘expert and diplomatic client-handling skills’, Baker & McKenzie LLP ‘excels’ as a team. Ian Mason recently joined the practice from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP.

With an ‘expert level of knowledge’, Melanie Carter heads the team at Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP, which represented the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in the Court of Appeal case Coke-Wallis v The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Dinah Tuck is ‘first rate’.

Stephen Grosz heads the team at Bindmans LLP, which acts for the College of Psychoanalysts UK, the Association of Child Psychotherapists, and the Association of Independent Psychotherapists.

David Reissner leads the team at Charles Russell LLP, which acts in relation to fitness-to-practise hearings and investigations brought by the General Pharmaceutical Council, as well as handling criminal prosecutions and inquests involving healthcare professionals.

Peter Jones heads the team at Eversheds LLP, which is highly recommended.

Noted for his ‘ability to fight hard for his clients’, Ian Ryan heads the team at Finers Stephens Innocent LLP.

Angela Horne heads the team at Hill Dickinson LLP, whose clients include the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund, Quinn Insurance, Dental Protection, the Medical Protection Society, the Veterinary Defence Society, and The Birth Centre.

Legal Risk’s three-partner team is led by Frank Maher, and provides clients with ‘first-class advice’.

The ‘first-class’ team at Mayer Brown International LLP is led by Clare Canning, who is ‘good at focusing on the big picture’, and ‘excellent at dealing with clients’.

Stephenson Harwood’s ‘excellent’ team is led by Tony Woodcock.

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