Regulatory Offences
Regulatory and Disciplinary Investigations Solicitors
Holborn Adams has a wealth of experience acting for clients under investigation by regulatory bodies in matters related to all areas of professional discipline.
Facing a regulatory investigation?
Understanding Regulatory and Disciplinary Actions
Professional regulatory bodies operate across a wide range of occupations. In the UK, people working in law, finance, accountancy, medicine, education, and many other professions are sometimes subject to complex and stringent professional discipline rules. Being accused of breaching these rules can seriously damage an individual’s ability to earn a living and ruin their reputation.
In recent years, professional disciplinary investigators have ramped up significantly, with many bodies now examining professionals’ use of social media as well as activities outside the traditional workplace.
How Do Regulatory and Disciplinary Investigations Begin?
Professional disciplinary investigations usually start with a complaint from a client, patient, competitor, employer, or third party. However, sometimes a regulator will decide to investigate based on stories in the media, its own enquiries, or because of reports from law enforcement or another regulatory body.
The professional disciplinary procedure varies between various regulatory bodies, but there are some common themes. For example, most investigations start with a fact-finding exercise, which involves gathering information and documents. In most cases, a lack of engagement from the investigation’s subject will often be regarded as a failure to cooperate, which is often a serious matter in itself.
However, a disciplinary body’s requests for information can often be onerous and can be challenged if they are unreasonable or disproportionate.
Reliable Regulatory and Disciplinary Representation in the UK
At Holborn Adams, we act for clients from all professional backgrounds, including doctors, dentists, and solicitors. We are highly adapted to undertake work simultaneously to a criminal inquiry that may involve our assistance for representation before a regulatory body.
We work across a range of professional discipline bodies, including the SRA, FCA, FRC, and GMC. Having expertise across regulators and industries has provided us with a valuable overview of regulatory philosophy.
A significant part of our work involves providing professional disciplinary advice and representation to individuals whom the firm also represents in relation to criminal allegations. By offering both services together, the firm can provide clients with a complete legal solution to the issues that are most likely to seriously impact their liberty and livelihood.
More importantly, we can anticipate lines of attack and develop innovative defences that firms focusing on just one profession may be unaware of. As fellow professionals, we are very sensitive to how professional discipline affects a client and the stresses surrounding an investigation. Given our broad experience with professionals in numerous specialisms, we will pick up your case quickly and sympathetically from the outset.
Here are just some of the areas our criminal defence solicitors can assist with:
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- General Dental Council (GDC)
- Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
Our Fees
Fixed fee defence
Our team will give you a free, no-obligation quote after your initial consultation. We offer a fixed fee service, free of any hidden extra costs. Our firm is exclusively privately-funded meaning we cannot accept any legal aid clients. Your fees secure you a top-tier team and top-tier treatment, covering
Dedicated, experienced legal team.
Ability to get your case dropped before charges.
Representation at interviews and court hearings.
Requests to vary bail conditions where required.
Negotiating with police or prosecutors
Referrals to various support services.
Trusted by clients
Top-rated legal defence and client care
Our clients feel supported, not just in their legal defence, but as individuals facing challenging times. We provide expert representation as well as the guidance, emotional support, and resources they need, which is why we consistently receive glowing reviews.
We’re here to help
Frequently asked questions
Here are some answers to our most commonly asked questions - for tailored support with your case, please call us now for a free initial consultation.
Yes - we are proudly accredited by the two largest governing legal bodies in the UK, the Law Society and Legal 500. We are also regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
We have hundreds of client testimonials listed on our website, in addition to reviews on independent review platforms TrustPilot, Google Reviews, and Review Solicitors.
Every case is different. After your initial consultation, we’ll determine which services are best for your defence, and calculate a fixed fee quote for you. The price depends on the complexity of the case, how long it will take, which team members are best for the case, and whether we need to instruct specialists. We do not charge by the hour - only a fixed fee for your whole defence.
When you phone us, you’ll have an initial consultation with a member of our legal team on a completely confidential basis. They will listen to your case and may ask additional questions to get as much detail as possible so the team can decide whether they are the best fit for you. We cannot give exact costs, a timeline, or suggestions on how to proceed in this initial call.After this, they will give your case details to the rest of the team and someone will be in touch with you with a no-obligation fixed fee quote for representation, and some ideas for next steps (such as pre-charge engagement, police interview representation, and similar). It is then up to you whether you’d like to accept the quote and proceed to formally instruct Holborn Adams.
Yes, your initial phone consultation is free of charge. After this, we will give you a free, no-obligation fixed fee quote for using our services.
Yes, when you call us, your call is 100% confidential.
We have a member of our legal team available to speak 24/7, 365 days a year. Whenever you need to speak to someone, you will be connected instantly. All calls are 100% confidential.
No - we are a 100% privately funded firm, meaning we charge a fixed fee for our services. We do not take on legal aid cases. We find that focusing on private cases only allows us to dedicate more time and resources to defending our clients to a much higher degree than firms who are stretched thin by intense legal aid caseloads.
Yes - and it is our ultimate goal with all cases that come to us pre-charge. We believe in a proactive approach, working with you to build a defence that encourages prosecutors and the CPS to drop the case with no further action. Please speak to us as soon as you become aware there are allegations against you. The earlier you reach out, the better.
To decide whether any firm is best to handle your case, you should be asking yourself some key questions:
- How are they funded? - We are a privately funded firm meaning we take on cases for a fixed fee, with no options for legal aid. Some firms are legal aid only or a mix of private defence and legal aid. For the highest level of attention and case preparation, you are best seeking a 100% private firm like us, as we are not stretched thin by a caseload of Government-funded cases.
- Expertise - Our solicitors have diverse experience defending every type of criminal offence. We are, however, specialists in pre-charge defence, fraud, sexual offences, and regulatory investigations, so if your case falls under these categories, we are confident we can secure the best outcome for you.
- Location - We have offices all over the world. We can travel to you and offer remote conferencing services to make things easiest for you.
- Reviews - Our client testimonials speak for themselves. You’ll see hundreds of glowing reviews on our website, as well as on independent review sites like Review Solicitors, Google Reviews, and TrustPilot.