Legal support for dental practitioners

 

Contact our dental advice line: 10am to 4pm, Monday – Friday

Simply call 020 7839 0278 and ask for the dental advice line. Our team of experts can offer dentists and members of dental teams up to ten minutes’ free legal advice.

Our dedicated national team provides legal advice to dental practitioners on specialist regulatory, corporate and commercial matters:

Selling or purchasing a practice

Our expertise in the GDS and PDS Regulations, the Dentists Act and other relevant healthcare legislation, together with our corporate law expertise, will ensure that your sale or purchase is structured in a robust manner. Our national Real Estate team is experienced in providing expert advice to our dental clients as part of their practice sale, purchase or incorporation. The property related elements of the sale and purchase of a dental business are fundamental yet often overlooked, particularly at the very outset of the negotiation. What value is the practice without premises to operate from? The risk is potential delay at a crucial stage of the commercial transaction and loss of negotiating position.

Partnership/expense sharing agreements

The decision to go into a partnership (whether this be a full equity sharing arrangement or merely an expense sharing arrangement) may be taken quickly and easily – but the repercussions of failing to record these arrangements accurately are likely to be far more challenging to untangle if your business relationship has not been set up properly from the outset.

Premises

Premises form the most crucial aspect of any dental practice as without them, it is quite simply impossible to provide a service – yet it is not simple to find alternative premises down the road. Planning issues are always of paramount importance and particularly in the case of NHS premises, the DV and NHS England have a  significant impact on what you may wish to do.

Employment

Employment law is perhaps the fastest moving of all areas of law, and we see a constant stream of new requirements that your practice will have to comply with as an employer. Add to that the disruptive potential to a partnership of an escalating employment dispute without the luxury of dedicated HR expertise to call upon, and it is easy to see why employment law can be such a worry for dentists.

Performers List issues

Dentists working in NHS practice, and various salaried posts, are required to have their name on NHS England’s Performers List. We are highly experienced at providing advice on the on the issues that can arise from joining the Performers List and understand the application issues that can be encountered.

Fitness to practise hearings

Hempsons is established as a leading firm in the field of professional discipline, and much of that reputation has been built on our Regulatory and Crime team’s experience of defending dentists under investigation by the General Dental Council (GDC). If you have been invited to submit a written response to a complaint, or are due to face a hearing before one of the GDC’s Practice Committees, contact our team of experienced GDC defence lawyers for dentists today to receive the advice, guidance and support you need to get the best possible result with your case.

Crime

Our criminal defence solicitors have expertise in several areas of criminal law. We defend dentists charged with a wide range of criminal offences, leading to trials in the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court. Our experience is at all levels of the criminal process, from attending an initial interview with the police through charge, Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court preliminary hearings and ultimately to trial. Our experienced criminal defence solicitors also have experience in the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Partnership disputes

As a full blown partnership dispute which ends up in Court can cost upwards of £200,000 plus VAT (with the accompanying risk of having to bear the other side’s costs if you lose), it is particularly important to seek guidance from specialists who have a full understanding of the environment in which you operate. This includes your relationship with NHS England, which can often be crucial in determining the most appropriate way forward. Disputes of any nature are traumatic and time consuming, as well as being potentially extremely costly. This is ever more so when they affect your professional livelihood and arise out of a breakdown of a relationship with someone you may have worked with for many years.

Free legal resources for dentists

We have a range of free legal resources for dentists, including an advice line, blogs, and webinars.

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  • Legal 500 2022
    “Lisa Davison has excellent knowledge and experience of primary care property acquisitions and disposals.”
  • Legal 500 2022
    “Expert knowledge and experience in Primary Care including GP practices and Dental practices.”
  • Chambers UK 2023
    “They have fantastic knowledge and an ability to look outside the box. One of the most empowering feelings is knowing that Hempsons will buy into your vision and support you to achieve it.”
  • Chambers UK 2023
    “Hempsons has a market-leading team experienced in all aspects of healthcare partnership law.”
  • Chambers UK 2023
    “The team provides high-quality and timely service and has excellent understanding of this sector.”
  • Chambers UK 2023
    “Their knowledge is second to none and is combined with the ability to explain complex matters to clients with limited legal knowledge.”
  • Chambers UK 2023
    “I was very impressed with the knowledge, level of care and support I received from Ross.”
  • Chambers UK 2023
    “Ross consistently provides a professional and timely service demonstrating real depth of sector knowledge.”
  • Legal 500 2022
    “Ross Clark. Extremely engaging, knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. Really respectful and thoroughly decent. He has a good team around him who work very well – from my side he’s developed a good culture and leads a happy and very hard-working team. He has a happy knack of being able to distil and simplify very complex issues within healthcare.’”
  • Legal 500 2022
    “Ross Clark has “deep personal knowledge and expertise” in medical partnerships and dispute work”