Top sports and regulatory lawyer Louise Hartley joins 3PB

28th October 2024

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).

At Sport England, Louise advised and worked on complex, high-profile sporting issues involving the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs), most notably leading Sport England’s role in commissioning the Whyte Review, which uncovered systemic abuse in the sport of gymnastics. She also advised on the most recent version of the Code for Sports Governance and supported Sport England’s role in the development of the Sports Councils’ Transgender Inclusion in Sport Guidance.

Earlier, Louise joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s in-house Regulatory Legal Team after a secondment, where she managed a large caseload of complex and multi-handed matters, often with significant media interest. She appeared regularly in matters before NMC panels, covering a range of allegations from criminal offences, sexual misconduct, CQC failings, health conditions and competence issues. Louise also appeared frequently in the High Court, defending statutory appeals and making applications for extensions to interim orders.

Gareth Graham, who heads the Sports Law team at 3PB said: “We are excited to welcome Louise to 3PB as she will strengthen our offering to our expanding sporting client base. She brings a wealth of experience working in-house for sporting organisations and in advising other regulators, registrants and regulated organisations"

Jennifer Agyekum, who heads 3PB's Professional Discipline team of barristers, said: "Louise is a great addition to the team and I know she will immediately be working on disciplinary hearings here including Ofsted and CQC cases. Her background in Tribunal and High Court fitness-to-practise work in the medical/healthcare arena gives added expertise to complement our busy specialists here."

If you wish to contact Louise, please email her on [email protected]. If you wish to instruct her, or see about her availability, please contact her clerks Russell Porter on [email protected] or Gemma Faulkner on [email protected] or by calling them on 020 7583 8055.