Simon Connolly

Regulatory & Public

Simon has practised in the field of healthcare regulatory law for over a decade and joins the Bar and Chambers to develop his advocacy experience and skills in this practice area.

Simon is an accomplished inquest advocate with his inquest experience involving the representation of individual healthcare professionals of all disciplines and specialities and healthcare corporates – urgent care centres/ out of hours’ service providers, care homes, pharmacies – in traditional inquests. Simon also has substantial experience in representing Health in Justice providers in enhanced inquests engaging Article 2 ECHR and heard by a Coroner sitting with a jury. His inquest practice extends nationally.

In addition to his inquest work, Simon is significantly experienced in advising and representing healthcare professionals in criminal investigations and proceedings. His criminal law experience has involved advising clinicians under investigation in relation to offences such as gross negligence manslaughter, sexual assault, wilful neglect, fraud, perjury and perverting the course of justice and in regulatory investigations brought by the CQC.

Simon is often instructed to represent clients in investigations and proceedings arising from the inquests or criminal investigations in which he has been involved and prosecuted by national (GMC/ GDC/ GPhC/ GOsC) and local (NHS England) regulators in which a practitioner’s right to continue in practice is in issue.

Simon’s experience also includes the representation of professionals involved in employment disciplinary investigations and proceedings (MHPS). He has a comprehensive understanding of the legal framework governing the conduct of such matters which he has deployed in successfully and favourably concluding many disciplinary investigations.

Simon has also advised in healthcare related information law, public law and human rights cases.

Simon’s healthcare regulatory practice is rooted in his extensive medical knowledge, his in-depth understanding of the social and political realities of the practice of medicine in all of its guises and also the legal structures in and under which practitioners and providers operate.

1999 LLB (Hons) 2:1, University of Hull 2000 College of Law (Chester)