Regulation

There has been a steady increase in the regulation of professions and businesses over the past few decades. Old systems of self-regulation have disappeared due to well-publicised scandals and increased public awareness.

In this changing environment, both regulators and the regulated require sound and easily accessible legal advice and advocacy.

Our barristers provide specialist expert advice in every principal area of regulatory law.

In education, this ranges from cases involving the oversight of the higher education sector to acting for OFSTED and appearing as clerks to independent appeals panels against decisions of primary and secondary schools.

In the healthcare sector, our barristers act for many of the governing bodies, including the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and niche bodies such as the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.

The full range of healthcare regulation is covered by our broad-based team, which also has experience in related areas such as the regulation of institutions by the Care Quality Commission and the pharmaceutical sector.

Our barristers undertake regulatory matters in all areas, including in relation to the police, sport, financial services, regulatory bodies such as OFGEM and OFCOM, and the legal profession, which includes representing the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Services Board.

Our barristers appear at disciplinary hearings and tribunals, judicial review challenges, before primary care trust panels, and at hearings and appeals in all courts from the High Court to the Privy Council.