Rachel Whitaker > Browne Jacobson LLP > Nottingham, England > Lawyer Profile

Rachel Whitaker

0115 976 6538 rachel.whitaker@brownejacobson.com View profile

Work Department

Business Services

Position

Rachel is a Senior Associate in the firm’s Commercial Health Team and heads up our health sector procurement practice. Rachel has developed a well-respected practice in the area of public procurement specialising in the complex area of health and social care procurement. As a result of her in-depth knowledge of NHS governance and structures combined with her procurement practice Rachel is advising on strategic and innovative NHS models aimed at delivering the Long Term Plan.

On the contentious front the highlight of Rachel’s year is being instructed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to act for it, the preferred provider, in the disputed Nottingham Treatment Centre litigation (Circle Nottingham v NHS Rushcliffe CCG [2019 EHWC] 135). The Trust’s position was instrumental in securing the lifting of the Automatic Suspension and allowing the CCG to contract with the Trust to bring forward the sought after service redesign. Rachel’s role in this and other matters attracts continual praise from clients: “Rachel has been an absolute star”, “I’d particularly like to thank Rachel who even when I was “agitated” by our competitors managed to remain calm and professional at all ALL times” and “she knows so much off the top of her head”.

Rachel’s technical legal skills coupled with her ability to provide pragmatic and commercial advice is one of the reasons she has a growing and loyal client base and why she has picked up a number of significant new clients this year both on the buyer and provider side.

Other highlights of Rachel’s recent public procurement work include:

• Successfully defending a number of procurement challenges on behalf NHS bodies including CCGs and NHS Trusts.
• Providing specialist regulatory due diligence support to foreign companies looking to invest in UK companies selling to the public sector.

Rachel, together with Louise Bennett, continues to roll out the firm’s programme of ‘Managing procurement risks’ workshops which are aimed at senior procurement officers and in house lawyers at contracting authorities. The workshops have been attended by over 250 delegates and the quality of the events is universally recognised by delegates: “Excellent session, well presented, interactive, different activities and knowledgeable presenter”, “Excellent training day – particularly useful the way in which case studies were used to enable practical application”, “Excellent course. Interactive element was very good” and “very useful overview of a procurement process, especially for those new to procurement disputes. The tactical advice was especially helpful”.

Education

• Solicitor – admitted September 2005
• LPC – 2003
• LLB (Hons) Law & French – 2002
• Diploma – French Law – University of Montpellier – 2001