FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT INSTRUCTING LAWYERS FOR DOCTORS LIMITED

​DO YOU ONLY ACT FOR DOCTORS?

No. Whilst the practice was set up to meet the very specialist needs of doctors, we act for Orthodontists, Dentists, Nurses and a whole range of other NHS professional from NHS managers (Human Resources, Finance Managers, Estates Managers, etc) to clinicians and therapists. We also act for Nursing Homes and social care clients. We know the NHS inside and out whether it is QOF targets, APMS, Agenda for Change, MHPS, NICE Guidance, RTT rules, Job Planning appeals, we will know what you mean without you having to teach us a lesson in NHS terminology. 
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cAN YOU MEET WITH ME IN PERSON?

Yes, wherever you are in the country, we can arrange to meet with you whether at our offices or we can come to you.
If you are GP, Orthodontic or Dental Practice and would like us to defend employment tribunal proceedings, we prefer to meet you at the practice because seeing the practice can help us to understand the working environment and assist with the defence of the claim.
With individual NHS practitioners bringing employment proceedings or defending regulatory proceedings it is good to meet but not necessary at the outset. We would certainly want to meet you in person when it comes to preparing witness statement which are always best undertaken face-to-face.    
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I, or we are with patients during the day can you speak with me out of hours or during the weekend?

​Yes absolutely. Our firm has been set up to meet the very specific needs of NHS and Social Care Clients. We know that your life will be stressful with tight schedules. Our lawyers have helped clients who are GP /Dental partnerships, surgeons, nurses and those who work unsociable hours, we understand that a firm operating between 9am – 5pm hours is not going to suit your needs. We are very happy to speak or meet in person and outside of usual hours, giving you the ability to devote time to your patients.
When instructed by GP, Dental and Orthodontic practices we will happily dial in to or attend a partnership meeting so that all your partners can listen to our advice for example on an employment matter. 
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I have legal expenses insurance but my insurer states that I can only use their panel solicitor is this true?

This is not correct. Article 3 of Directive 87/344 (the legal expenses insurance directive) expressly gives ‘the insured person the right to entrust the defence of his interests, from the moment that he has the right to claim from his insurer under the policy. There have been various court decisions that have found in favour of the client wanting to instruct his or her own lawyer. If you are an NHS client, you may be able to argue, depending on the circumstances, that you need a solicitor with specialist experience.
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I have legal expenses insurance but my insurer states that cover only comes into play when I am ready to issue proceedings, but I want you to help me raise a grievance?

Although not unheard of, it is rare for an insurance company to fund the pre-litigation stages of a dispute. This is unfortunate because obtaining early legal advice helps with the prospects of success of the claim. It may well be worth self-funding the initial stages because it will help you later. For example, asking us to check a grievance letter or a disciplinary appeal may improve your prospects of success at a future hearing.
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If I need to go to a hearing will have a barrister or will you conduct the advocacy on my behalf?

​We are in-house advocates and will undertake advocacy at regulatory and employment tribunal proceedings or any hearing at which we have a right of audience as solicitors. If your circumstances are better suited to having a barrister, we can also instruct a barrister of your choice and will only instruct barristers chambers with specialist NHS experience and who have agreed to our own high standards of care before offering to help. Unusually for a firm of solicitors, we insist that all barrister’s chambers that we instruct agree to our terms and conditions before taking on your matter. These ensure that the barrister will be properly prepared for the hearing and not take on work for us in which they are not competent.
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What if I have an issue involving an area of law that you do not cover?

We are a smaller niche firm and this does mean that we cannot offer a full range of services like a very large firm would. Our uniqueness is our very specialist NHS knowledge in workplace matters and professional discipline. However, we are members of a group which enables us to quickly recommend you to another firm who uphold similar high standards to ourselves who can assist you with issues such as property disputes or other matters that we do not cover. 
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Do you offer a free legal consultation?

We will have a 10 minute chat by telephone with most of our clients at the outset to check that we are able to help you. We cannot give legal advice until you have agreed to become a client and accepted our terms of business.  This is because as a firm of solicitors, we cannot act in situations which can amount to a conflict of interest.  If we give free legal advice at the outset, there is a risk that we could give you advice on a matter where we are unable to act due to a conflict. For example, a practice nurse telephones us for some employment advice and we give the advice but later find out that we act for her employing GP practice. This means we can speak with you in general terms but cannot give any specific advice until you have agreed to become a client enabling us to undertake a conflict check.