Services for GPs

Plan, Protect, Prosper
A full service legal approach for general medical practitioners
www.weightmans.com

Plan, Protect, Prosper
Introduction
In the evolving NHS landscape general practitioners have
greater business opportunities than ever before but also
face growing challenges.
Is your practice taking the time to plan how to exploit these
opportunities? Of equal importance have you taken the
required steps to protect your business from unwanted risks?
Are you able to ward off potential threats to your business?
Are legal issues arising in your personal life relegated to the
bottom of your priority list?
With specialist advice and a commitment to planning, you
can protect your business and prevent issues becoming major
problems in the future.
Weightmans has an industry recognised team specialised in
representing GPs from advising on appropriate ownership
structures, recruitment, change management and healthcare
regulation, through to residential conveyancing, pre-nuptial
agreements , divorce, wills and lasting powers of attorney.
Our private client and medical partnerships teams are ranked
across 5 practice areas in Chamber & Legal 500, including two
top tier rankings.
Our experienced advisors provide full service legal support for
general practitioners across the country – covering both your
professional and personal needs.
Our lawyers help you:
Plan for the future of your practice and your
personal life
Protect your NHS contract, your premises, and your
personal wealth
Prosper with the peace of mind that comes from
knowing appropriate safeguards are in place for every
aspect of your business and your life.

Edwina Farrell gives pragmatic
guidance and is responsive to
client demands.
- Chambers 2017
Edwina Farrell,
Partner

Plan, Protect, Prosper
Services for your business
The delivery of primary care services continues to evolve,
with competition and diversity increasing in all directions.
Practice advice
In a changing landscape, experience and knowledge are
crucial. By teaming with our primary care specialist lawyers,
who advise GPs and local medical committees (LMCs) across
the country, you can be confident you are receiving the best
possible support.
From partnership and property issues through to ensuring your
business structures are fit for the future, our clients consistently
value the expertise and diligence with which we operate.
Issues we can advise on include:
Expanding your practice beyond core GMS and PMS
contracts
Structuring and operating GP provider companies
and federations
Participating in accountable care organisations for the
delivery of health and social care integration under the NHS
Vanguard ‘New Models of Care’ programme
Securing new premises and grant funding for
modernisation or extensions of existing premises
Negotiating sale and leaseback transactions to realise the
value of your surgery.
Partnership deeds
Without a formal partnership deed, you are involved in
a partnership at will – a less formal and more uncertain
partnership structure. This is bad news. It almost certainly
means your NHS contract could be threatened, you may
be increasingly unable to bid for new contracts, and your
business could be under threat.
Clear and up-to-date partnership deeds remove the inherent
uncertainties, vulnerabilities and potential hazards of being
involved in a partnership at will.
A robust partnership deed regulates the relationship between
partners and helps to prevent unnecessary partnership disputes.
Protecting your premises
Whether you are an owner or occupier, protecting your surgery
is key.
Leaseholders face a range of potential issues. Our team represents
practices and LMCs in lease negotiations, service charge disputes,
and lease assignments.
For existing partners, as well as new partners joining the
business, take time to consider several matters:
Do we have a lease?
Is our occupation secure and is the property properly
maintained?

Are there service charges and what will they cost us?
Can we get out of the lease?
For surgery owners, there are other considerations to answer:
Is my ownership protected?
Does the property allow me to do what the business needs?
Does the mortgage have any restrictions or penalties?
By proactively approaching issues relating to your premises or
property, Weightmans can help you to protect your business
against any unforeseen issues.
Our team sits on the Primary Care Premises Forum and is
an approved legal service provider for several LMCs. Our
experience includes:
Advising practices on protecting their property ownership
through declarations of trust that preserve the rights of each
of the parties
Representing incoming partners acquiring a share of property,
ensuring they understand any hidden costs or issues that may
prejudice their investment
Investigating and explaining in full any mortgage conditions
attached to the property.
Healthcare regulation
If a regulatory difficulty arises, Weightmans is on hand to offer
crucial support and ensure your business gets back on track.
We can help with:
NHS England National Performers List investigations and
hearings when your performance, conduct or health -
or that of your staff – is questioned
Preparing for and completing disciplinary processes for either
yourself or your staff
Resolving partnership disputes
Dealing with inquiries, investigations and actions by
national regulators, including the GMC, GDC, NMC,
and HCPC
Ensuring your complaints processes are fit or purpose
Care Quality Commission processes and actions
against registration
Criminal or coroners’ investigations, including
representation at police stations and in court
Training around regulatory issues to prevent future
difficulties arising.
Employment issues
People are at the heart of your organisation, which is why
we focus on helping you get the best from your colleagues.
Are you on top of the latest employment law issues? Do you
fully understand how best to avoid claims and manage an
effective workforce to drive forward your business?
We can assist with:
Ensuring your staff are engaged on fit-for-purpose terms
and conditions
Designing policies and procedures that underpin best
practice in the workplace
Immigration law compliance, including status checking
and obtaining the necessary paperwork when recruiting
from overseas
Understanding the complexities around pensions law
Managing change, including redundancies, mergers, and
staff transfers.

Plan, Protect, Prosper
Services for you
We know that running a busy practice is challenging. Few
GPs have the time to properly manage personal legal matters.
This can impact on the efficient running of your practice and,
ultimately, on patient care.
Weightmans’ full service legal provision is designed to provide
you with the comfort that comes from having your affairs in
order across both your professional and private life.
Residential conveyancing
Buying a home is often the largest financial commitment we
make. We can guide you through the process from start to finish,
whether you are buying, selling, or transferring ownership.
As your children grow up, how will they take their first steps
on the property ladder? If you decide to gift or lend some of
their property’s purchase price, it’s important to protect your
investment – particularly if your son or daughter is buying the
property with a partner.
We can protect your contribution by setting up a loan
agreement and charge, or a declaration of trust.
We can help with:
House sale and purchase
Remortgages
Transfers of equity
Trust deeds and declarations of trust
Equity release
Auctions sales
Loan agreements and charges
Wills and estate planning
Dying intestate can leave a difficult, expensive and time
-consuming mess for both your family and your business
partners. But with appropriate planning, you can ensure your
estate is left to those you want to benefit, that arrangements
with your business partners are as smooth as possible, and that
your family’s tax liability is no higher than necessary.
If you do not make reasonable provision for your dependants
in your will or elsewhere, your estate may face lengthy and
costly legal proceedings. Planning your will and letter of
wishes is a cost effective way in which to protect the monies
that you leave from litigation costs.

Lasting power of attorney
If you lost your mental or physical capacity, what would happen
to your property and financial affairs? If you are in a partnership,
how would you mitigate the impact on the business?
Should the worst happen, a lasting power of attorney (LPA) gives
someone else permission to manage your finances and property.
We have many years of experience advising on:
Wills
Trusts
Tax planning
Probate and administration of estates
Powers of attorney
Deputyships
Wills trust and estate disputes
Family law advice
Pre- and post-nuptial agreements
Nobody enters a relationship or marriage expecting it to fail,
but the sad truth is that many do eventually break down. Preand
post-nuptial agreements can help to pre-determine what
should happen if your relationship fails. Pre- and post-nuptial
agreements can also cover how your interest in your business
should be treated, limiting the adverse impact on the practice
and your partners.
They are particularly useful if you have children from a first
marriage for whom you wish to preserve wealth, or if you are
bringing significant inherited wealth to the marriage.
Divorce
Should your marriage irretrievably break down, our team has
extensive experience in limiting and mitigating the worst
effects of divorce on you, your family, and your business. From
steering you through the proceedings through to advising
on cost-effective and efficient disclosure, valuation and
negotiations, our lawyers are able to protect your interests at
all turns.
We understand that running a GP practice means there
is little time to look after your own needs. Our trusted
team can advise on how best to approach the situation
and is experienced in court applications as well as out of
court resolutions using mediation and collaborative law.
Our focus is to prevent expensive and time-consuming
litigation, giving you control over your affairs – with the
minimum of distraction.
Our team of recognised leading experts can advise on:
Divorce or dissolution of civil partnerships
Financial remedy on divorce and dissolution
Separation agreements
Pre and post nuptial agreements
Cohabitation disputes and Trusts of Land and Trustee
Act claims
Cohabitation agreements
Inheritance Act Claims
Financial claims on behalf of children and Schedule I
Children Act claims
Disputes in relation to children
Out of court dispute resolution

Plan, Protect, Prosper
Helping you prosper
Running a successful GP practice needs time, energy, and
clarity of mind. With Weightmans by your side, you’ll have
all three – knowing that both your professional and personal
legal affairs are managed by one of the UK’s leading law firms.
From helping your business grow, recruit staff, and comply
with the latest regulation, through to protecting your
premises and ensuring the best structure is in place for your
practice, our team tailors each of its recommendations to
your specific circumstances.
Away from your work, we offer the security that comes with
having protected your family. Whether you are looking to
manage your estate, need residential conveyancing support,
or emerge well placed from a difficult divorce, we’ll be there to
provide the advice and guidance you need.
It’s not just your patients who need care:
so too do you, your family, and your business. Contact
us now for further information on how we can help
ensure that your business and your family are protected,
enabling you to prosper over the coming years.

They were excellent and highly polished,
with great determination to achieve the
optimal result for their client.
- Chambers 2017
Extremely professional
and efficient.
- Chambers 2017
Emma Collins,
Partner

Plan, Protect, Prosper
About Weightmans
Weightmans is a Top 45 law firm
with offices nationwide.
Leading UK Top 45 law firm with a turnover of more than £95m
Offices in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool,
London and Manchester
187 partners and over 1,300 employees nationwide
112 specialism rankings and 226 individual rankings in
Chambers and Legal 500 UK directories

For more information visit our website or contact:
Services for your business
Edwina Farrell, Partner
020 7822 1926
edwina.farrell@weightmans.com
Nathan East, Partner
020 7822 1932
nathan.east@weightmans.com
Services for you
Emma Collins, Partner
0161 214 0530
emma.collins@weightmans.com
Carole Atkinson, Partner
0151 243 9501
carole.atkinson@weightmans.com

Contact us on 0345 073 9900 www.weightmans.com
@weightmans
Weightmans