Healthcare Lawyers

The way in which care is delivered and consumed is changing and healthcare businesses are having to evolve to keep pace. Consumer demands, innovation and regulatory change have created a new environment and risk profile.

The sector is embracing the need to prevent as well as cure in order to improve health outcomes, offer better access to health services and relieve pressure on the healthcare system. There is a new focus on “wellness”. Healthcare providers are responding by expanding and diversifying their existing offerings. Med-tech businesses are creating new technologies to enhance the efficacy of existing therapies.

Traditional and new care pathways are beginning to converge through joined-up thinking and the application of supportive technology. This is democratising healthcare. Individuals will increasingly expect to be able to choose what, how and when care is delivered. In such a fast-changing environment it can feel as if the rules are being rewritten.

Our healthcare solicitors help to ensure that your business can continue to thrive.

Expert legal support for healthcare businesses

With extensive experience in the sector, our national team of experts support health and social care providers, as well as medicine, medical device and digital health businesses. The healthcare lawyers at Shakespeare Martineau are well-positioned to help with a wide range of regulatory and commercial issues, including:

Regulatory advice, compliance, and due diligence
Social housing
Later living
Employment law
Contractual disputes
Commercial development
Intellectual property
Insurance

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, experienced owner-manager, CFO, CSO or a pre-revenue start-up, we understand that you need advice based on an understanding of the environment in which you work.

After many years working within the healthcare space, with clients across the country, there is very little that we haven’t already seen or been involved with.

Working with you

Our healthcare solicitors understand the importance of robust and pragmatic advice to drive your business forward, which only comes from building a genuine long-term relationship with you. In a complex, dynamic sector, you need commercial advice that is based on a deep understanding of the challenges you face. Honesty and commerciality lie at our core and our mission is to ensure you’re maximising opportunities and protected against threats.

Immigration was a strong determining factor in the EU referendum and now could be a key challenge for the healthcare sector in the future. What is clear is that businesses must prepare for a new era of reduced migration and more restrictions.

All the latest views and insights
on current matters within Healthcare.

Call us on 0330 024 0333 to find out more
about what we can do for you.

"Our healthcare team help to ensure that your business can continue to thrive"

Roger Harcourt, Partner

Introducing our people

Alex Smith

Partner & Managing Director

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Roger Harcourt

Partner

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Heledd Wyn

Partner

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Nic Barker

Legal Director

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Meriel O’Loughlin

Associate

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Ashley Taylor

Associate

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Challenges facing the market

Funding: facilitation, structuring & access

Whether you’re a health or social care provider or looking for investment for a med-tech innovation.

Obtaining appropriate funding is not easy. Businesses have to ensure they are appropriately structured in order to be in a position to exploit funding opportunities. We can help to you to identify suitable financing options, such as venture capital, private equity, debt finance or SAFE investment and put business and contracting structures in place that will help you to access them.

Regulation & Compliance

Patient care and privacy are central to healthcare regulation.

Keeping abreast of the regulatory environment in which your business operates and complying with it is crucial to its viability. Even businesses with effective corporate and clinical governance can experience issues, such as with the Care Quality Commission and MHRA. Our team supports health and social care providers with their dealings with the CQC and other compliance and regulatory matters. For those in the med-tech space, bringing new products to market can involve a huge regulatory burden. Whether you’re seeking CE marking or MHRA approval, we can help you to adopt legal structures to support your application.

Commerciality

Some healthcare businesses are just beginning their journey, others are evolving, and some are feeling the squeeze.

Ensuring that your business is structured appropriately to exploit your opportunities and value is more important than ever. Our team will support you on the full range of corporate and commercial dealings to help you to deliver long-term viability and succession; whether through corporate structuring, investment, commercialisation of products, contracting IP, licensing, HR support, data protection or real estate management.