3PB is, and has for many years been, a leading set in the field of professional discipline. A major part of our barristers’ disciplinary work is in the medical/healthcare field – often acting for GMC, GDC, doctors and dentists. Many members of Chambers regularly appear at the GMC and GDC, and we are frequently instructed to act for other healthcare professionals including nurses, pharmacists, opticians, osteopaths and chiropractors. Members also regularly appear at GMC fitness-to-practice panels as well as internal hospital trust disciplinary hearings, and advise and represent clients in High Court injunctive relief hearings, and appeals to the Administrative Court.
Our members have particular expertise and experience in representing healthcare professionals, facing dual disciplinary and criminal investigations, covering a full range of criminal charges (for example fraud, sexual assault, and medical manslaughter). We also have longstanding experience in representing hospital trusts facing Health and Safety criminal charges in the Crown Court.
We regularly act for members of other professions (eg accountants, actuaries and solicitors) in disciplinary proceedings and have extensive experience in the regulation of chartered surveyors and insurance brokers.
3PB’s team can be relied upon to respond quickly and to provide a complete legal service; from advice on compliance, to advocacy in the appellate courts. We understand the damage that may be done to a corporate or personal reputation as a result of enforcement activity is often the paramount concern of our clients.
Find back issues of our public and regulatory law newsletters here.
Head of Professional Discipline team
Jennifer Agyekum
Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 7583 8055
Deputy Head of Professional Discipline team
Daniel Brown
Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 7583 8055
Our Public and Regulatory Barristers...
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Louise Hartley, who moves from her role as Head of Legal at Sport England, joins the national chambers 3PB (3 Paper Buildings) having also worked extensively across a range of other regulatory sectors including the healthcare and telecommunications industries. Louise led the legal function at Sport England for more than five years, having earlier spent four years working as in-house counsel at both the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the PSA (Phone-paid Services Authority)....
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3PB congratulates its Public and Regulatory Law team for earning 3 new rankings in this year’s Chambers and Partners edition. To its existing 2 accolades for Administrative and Public Law, the team has added 2 rankings for Professional Discipline and one ranking for Inquests and Public Inquiries. Head of Group Mathew Gullick KC commented: “This significant gain in Chambers and Partners’ latest publication reflects both new and existing members of our national set of chambers,...
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3 Paper Buildings (3PB) is delighted to announce that leading barrister and silk Rachel Best KC (2006 call) has joined chambers as an associate member. Rachel specialises in employment and discrimination disputes, judicial reviews, inquests and personal injury cases. She was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2006, the Bar of Ireland in 2021 and was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2022. She was promoted to Silk in 2024....
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Former Solicitor General in England and Wales, the Rt.Hon. Michael Tomlinson KC (call:2002) is returning to 3PB (3 Paper Buildings) to practice as a barrister after more than 9 years as an MP and becoming one of UK’s top law enforcement officers. Michael was the first newly appointed King’s Counsel in 2022 and was sworn in as a member of His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council in February 2024. Michael will be based in the...
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Anna Leathem (call:2019), a regulatory, professional discipline and criminal barrister, has joined 3PB from 5SAH (5 St Andrew's Hill) in London and will be based from 3PB’s Winchester office. Anna acts on behalf of regulators and registrants. She recently completed a secondment with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and managed a large and varied caseload. She presented back-to-back substantive hearings in complex areas, including sexual misconduct and dishonesty, acted in interim order hearings, reviews...
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Welcome to 3PB's Professional Discipline newsletter edited by Daniel Brown, featuring analysis from Daniel Brown on Social Work England’s abuse of its power as a regulatory body in Meade v (1) Westminster City Council & (2) Social Work England (Case Numbers: 2201792/2022 and 2211483/2022). Sunyana Sharma considers the CoA's decision in Disclosure and Barring Service (‘DBS’) v. RI [2024] EWCA Civ 95, which confirms the Upper Tribunal's entitlement to decide that an appellant's denial of wrongdoing was credible and constituted a mistake of fact. Dr Tagbo Ilozue reviews Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care v (1) General Dental Coun-cil (2) Naveed Patel [2024] EWHC 243 (Admin) on the proper approach to sanction in professional disciplinary cases based on convictions for serious offences.
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Welcome to 3PB's Professional Discipline and Regulatory newsletter celebrating new rankings for our barristers in the latest Legal 500 publication. Edited by Daniel Brown, our newsletter has analysis from Sam Shurey on how to avoid erasure from the GDC register for non-compliance. Sunyana Sharma brings you news of the HCPC's updated standards of conduct, performance and ethics. Sunyana also considers the High Court's decision in Sudheer Shabir v. General Medical Council [2023] EWNH 1772 (Admin). Daniel Brown analyses Dr Sun v General Medical Council [2023] EWHC 1515 (Admin) concerned with mental health considerations in the context of findings of dishonesty.
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Criminal law specialist, Holly Fagan, pictured here, has become a member of chambers and will work from 3PB's Winchester office. She will be supported by 3PB's new criminal law and regulatory pupils Kate Davies and Jack Felvus. With a strong following and active client base for a barrister of her level of call, Holly has a busy practice both prosecuting and defending in the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court across the Western Circuit. Holly has...
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Sunyana Sharma (pictured here) successfully represented a practitioner psychologist before the Health and Care Professions Conduct (‘HCPC’) and Competence Panel in a professional disciplinary case. The registrant faced allegations of plagiarism and dishonesty relating to a section of a doctorate thesis in a highly specialised niche area of psychology, allegations for which had been made 5 years ago. Following a 6-day trial with 5 HCPC witnesses from a prestigious university, no allegations were found proved...
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3PB barrister Jamie Johnston (pictured here) reflects on his many years of managing a successful business to distil invaluable advice for counsel seeking to rapidly establish strong relationships with their commercial clients. Jamie also considers some key questions for counsel keen to enhance their own practices. Read Jamie’s Counsel Magazine article here (pp 18-19). Jamie Johnston is a civil law barrister specialising in property & commercial disputes and in sports disciplinary work. His busy practice...
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In this edition, David Swinstead, Peter Jennings, Timothy Bradbury, Nicholas Leviseur, Lachlan Wilson, and Mark Sullivan - all part of 3PB's team of legal assessors - issue part 2 of their top hints and tips for successful advocacy on the importance of language. Susan Jones provides a review of the Powers, Purposes and Patterns of Coroners Prevention of Future Death Reports. We also have cases analyses from Daniel Brown, Susan Jones and Sam Shurey.
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3PB education barrister Emma Waldron (pictured here) recently saw her client, a registered childminder, successfully appeal against her continued suspension by Ofsted. Emma was instructed by Francesca Snape at Markel Law in Manchester. The First-tier Tribunal Care Standards hearing was held in front of Tribunal Judge Ian Robertson and two specialist members, Michele Tynan and Dr David Cochran. The tribunal were taken by Emma to the Upper Tribunal decision in Ofsted v GM & WM...
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