Sarah-Jane Varley

We represent accountants before their regulators, defend claims of professional negligence and malpractice against accountants and conduct litigation. We also offer regulatory and criminal defence for accountants and their clients, including defending Companies House prosecutions.

We provide specialist services for dental practitioners who are registered with the GDC or applying for registration. Contact us to discuss fitness to practise proceedings or any other challenges.

Our solicitors represent doctors in proceedings with the GMC and MPTS, helping you with written documentation and advising you at every stage of the process in a range of different matters.

We work with current and prospective GCC members to support with fitness to practise investigations, registration challenges, restoration, appeals and more.

Richard Nelson LLP works with health and social care practitioners who are regulated by the HCPC, supporting you in disciplinary investigations, hearings and other registration challenges.

We represent insolvency practitioners in matters relating to the IPA, including written responses, statements and legal representation in Tribunals.

If you are a nurse or midwife registered with the NMC, or applying for registration or restoration, we can support you in a variety of fitness to practise issues.

Our solicitors work with opticians and other professionals registered with the GOC to provide advice and representation in fitness to practise cases and other matters of registration and discipline.

Richard Nelson LLP’s Pharmacy Solicitors have significant experience in providing advice and legal representation to pharmaceutical professionals, on all regulatory, disciplinary and professional misconduct matters.

Our specialist sports lawyers can offer advice, assistance and representation at all points of the disciplinary process. We are also happy to advise governing bodies when they are prosecuting a case.

Our experience working with healthcare professionals extends to students, who may be the subject of a fitness to practise investigation whilst studying. Contact us to discuss your options.

We represent teachers in disciplinary proceedings with the TRA, as well as providing support in criminal investigations and employer disciplinary hearings. Whatever your situation, our specialist solicitors are here to advise you.

Richard Nelson LLP's specialist solicitors support vets in disciplinary proceedings with the RCVS, including representation before preliminary and disciplinary committees. We also support with internal and commercial matters.

Contact Richard Nelson LLP's social worker solicitors for advice and representation in Social Work England fitness to practise investigations.

We work with medical professionals, teachers, lawyers, accountants and sportspeople who are undergoing professional disciplinary investigations. We also support with a range of other matters, such as applications for registration and restoration.

Our defence lawyers have expertise in representing dentists, dental professionals and dental students with GDC fitness to practise investigations and with a variety of other regulatory problems.

The GOC has an Interim Orders Panel which examines situations where the GOC considers that a Registrant’s registration should be restricted whilst allegations faced by an optical professional remain unresolved.

Richard Nelson LLP’s expert solicitors advise healthcare professionals on their HCPC registration applications, helping you to sort through complex issues and get the right result.

GMC appeals require specialist legal representation. It is possible to appeal a decision made by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) fitness to practise panel to the High Court. Richard Nelson LLP’s solicitors can advise and represent you throughout the appeals process to help you get the best result.

We offer expert legal representation and support to doctors across the UK, from medical students and junior doctors through to GPs and senior consultants in both the NHS and private practice.

To work as a doctor in the UK, it is essential to be registered with the GMC with a licence to practise. At Richard Nelson LLP we have experience of assisting doctors with a variety of issues relating to GMC registration.

We have experience of successfully representing doctors before the GMC in contested restoration applications. If you have been previously erased by a GMC or MPTS fitness to practise panel, we can review your case and give you realistic advice about your prospects of successfully applying for restoration.

GMC revalidation is now in full effect for all registered doctors in the UK.

There are several routes available to doctors who wish to apply to the GMC for entry onto the Specialist Register or the GP Register. We provide specialist advice and representation for doctors, for reviews and appeals to the GMC’s Registration Panel.

Our specialist GMC defence solicitors provide expert legal representation for doctors appearing before the MPTS.

If the GMC considers that a doctor’s registration should be restricted, whilst allegations remain unresolved, they will refer a doctor for an Interim Orders Tribunal hearing, which will be carried out by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS).

Our expert lawyers are experienced in advising and representing doctors in both GMC and Trust disciplinary investigations.

Our experienced NMC lawyers offer clear and honest advice on whether an appeal for the NMC’s Fitness to Practise Committee's adverse decision is in your best interests, and we can represent you throughout the process if you choose to proceed.

At Richard Nelson LLP, our specialist NMC defence lawyers can guide you through the investigating process with clarity, confidence, and care to help you secure the best possible outcome.

When a nurse or midwife is referred to the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC), the regulatory body will conduct an initial risk assessment. They will decide if an NMC interim order hearing is necessary. The council will only refer nurses and midwives for a hearing if they conclude that this is a necessary step to protect the public, or it is in the registrant’s own interests, or it is otherwise in the public interest.

Our specialist NMC defence lawyers are experienced in guiding and supporting you in every step of the NMC investigation.

Richard Nelson LLP‘s expert solicitors help nurses and midwives achieve the right result from their NMC registration application. Find out more about the process below and contact us to discuss your application.

Richard Nelson's expert NMC lawyers will support you through every step of the restoration process following a decision of the NMC’s Fitness to Practise Committee, giving you the best possible chance of success.

It is possible to appeal a decision of a Fitness to Practise Committee. A Notice of Appeal, together with Grounds of Appeal needs to be drafted and lodged with the High Court within 28 days of the decision.

Richard Nelson LLP’s GOC lawyers offer impartial advice on GOC Investigations.

Optometrists and dispensing opticians must be registered with the General Optical Council (GOC) to practise in the UK.

If an optometrist or dispensing optician has been removed from the register wishes to return to the register then they can apply for restoration to the register.

A guide on where to go and what to do in GDC Fitness to Practise hearings.

During a GDC investigation, the General Dental Council may decide to refer a registrant to the GDC Interim Orders Committee. Interim referrals are commonly done during the early stage of the investigation.

Richard Nelson LLP offers advice and representation for doctors undergoing a GDC investigation. The process can be long and challenging, which is why our specialist solicitors will work closely with you to help you understand the investigation and to get the best result from the process.

If you need help with any issues arising from a GDC registration application, Richard Nelson LLP‘s expert solicitors can provide advice.

We will give you realistic and pragmatic advice about your potential application for GDC restoration, to enable you to make an informed decision about your best way forward.

An HCPC registrant has 28 days to submit HCPC appeals to the High Court. However, HCPC appeals are risky. The registrant is exposed to the risk of paying the HCPC’s costs if their appeal is unsuccessful.

We have an excellent track record in defending HCPC registrants in HCPC Interim Orders Hearings.

Our qualified lawyers are experienced in representing HCPC registrants in HCPC investigations. We have an excellent track record of securing great results in the HCPC, even in difficult cases. We understand how important your career is to you and we will fight hard to protect your registration and preserve your reputation.

Find out more information about how Richard Nelson LLP can help you with GCC Appeals.

Find out more information about how Richard Nelson LLP can help you with GCC Interim Orders.

Find out more information about how Richard Nelson LLP can help you with GCC Investigations.

Find out more information about how Richard Nelson LLP can help you with GCC Registration.

Find out more information about how Richard Nelson LLP can help you with GCC Review Hearings.

Our GOsC lawyers provide expert representation in fitness to practise matters, as well as a range of other regulatory issues including interim orders, commercial disputes and internal investigations.

Richard Nelson LLP defends and represents BACP-registered counsellors and psychotherapists facing fitness-to-practice investigations. We offer legal assistance at every stage of the process, from the initial assessment and investigation to panel and final hearings.

There are certain decisions made by the GPhC that can be appealed to the GPhC Appeal Committee. A Notice of Appeal needs to be prepared and submitted to the Registrar within 28 days of the date of the decision being appealed.

During an investigation into a pharmacist’s fitness to practise, the GPhC may decide to refer a registrant for a GPhC interim orders hearing. The purpose of this hearing is to perform a risk assessment regarding the registrant continuing to work as a pharmacist until the GPhC fitness to practise process has been completed.

Our GPhC defence lawyers have extensive experience in defending pharmacists in pharmaceutical investigations. We have a proven track record for preparing persuasive written representations to the GPhC’s Investigating Committee, which make a real difference to the outcome.

All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians wanting to practise in the UK must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). GPhC registration must be renewed each year.

We have experience of providing teachers with independent private legal advice and legal representation in investigations by schools, the police and/or the TRA. Contact us today to speak to one of our expert solicitors.

Richard Nelson LLP represents psychoanalysts and therapists who are regulated by the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC), helping them navigate the BPC's fitness to practice process. Our lawyers assist registrants with various stages, including responding to allegations, preparing for hearings, and providing legal representation.

Richard Nelson LLP has a wealth of experience of representing UKCP registrants at every stage of the fitness to practise process including the initial stage, the investigation, case examination, and at the Adjudication Panel hearing stage.