Charlotte Ellis

After qualification as a solicitor Charlotte joined a national firm to work as a solicitor on behalf of the General Medical Council and, in 2008 began defending doctors on behalf of the Medical Defence Union before establishing the Professional Discipline Team at another national firm in 2011, defending un-indemnified regulated professionals before defending doctors on behalf of the Medical Protection Society. Charlotte is a specialist regulatory lawyer with a caseload of regulated professional clients and acts for indemnified doctors and other healthcare professionals. She has extensive expertise in acting for professionals in relation to regulatory fitness to practise matters, disciplinary investigations, inquests and criminal proceedings. Charlotte represents doctors at the General Medical Council (GMC), nurses at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), dentists at the General Dental Council (GDC), Pharmacists at the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), Opticians at the General Optical Council (GOC), registered professionals at the Health & Care Professionals Council (HCPC), Architects, Teachers, Accountants and any other regulated professionals, providing advocacy at police stations, Trust disciplinary hearings, Area Team (PCT) hearings and Inquests. Additionally Charlotte can provide non-contentious advice to a range of clients in relation to registration with regulatory bodies in conjunction with EU rights and regulations. A former prosecuting lawyer Charlotte is able to fully understand the workings and expectations of regulatory bodies and to advise clients accordingly in order to achieve the best possible outcome for them. Charlotte offers training to regulated professionals on fitness to practise processes, how regulatory bodies work and their expectations, avoiding a fitness to practise investigation and the interpreting of policy documents issued by each regulatory body. Charlotte is a member of the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers. Notable cases include: Dr U v General Medical Council (appeal case High Court of Justice) – successfully appealed a General Medical Council decision to impose conditions on a doctor’s registration which amounted to a suspension. Resulted in the GMC no longer imposing clinical attachments as a condition of registration. Mr A v Architects Registration Board (appeal case High Court of Justice) – successfully appealed a decision to erase an architect from the register MPTS v Dr S – successfully defended a doctor against erasure at the GMC in a high profile case involving the Daily Mail Dr S v General Medical Council – represented doctor in appeal proceedings in the High Court in relation to surgical coding for doctors in private practice MPTS v Dr N – successfully defended a doctor who had been under the auspices of the GMC for 5 years, now allowed to practice unrestricted Dr U v GMC – successfully fought for and obtained GMC registration for foreign medical graduate