Healthcare Lawyer / Legal Services Manager

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King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

We encourage all our staff to have a healthy work/life balance. In doing so, you can apply for flexible working from the beginning of your employment. We offer a range of options which are designed to suit different circumstances and priorities in line with service requirements.

flexible-working

Job overview

We are seeking a Solicitor with significant Healthcare Law experience to play a pivotal role in delivering the diverse and dynamic Legal Services required to support one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts. King's has a unique profile of local services and focused tertiary specialties together with an international reputation for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, fetal medicine, cardiac and blood cell cancer.

This post represents an excellent opportunity for a professional with a passion for high quality (and occasionally high profile) medico-legal work. The post holder will be highly skilled in providing professional management of Trust inquest, advisory and court matters, as well as assisting with supervision of complex claims and involvement in legal matters of particular national and international importance. Ideally, you will have excellent healthcare law firm or in-house NHS legal experience with confidence and competence in inquests, claims and Court of Protection work.

This is an exciting role, which requires ambition, teamwork and motivation. You will need confidence and expertise, as well as being very responsive and able to deal with highly complex and sensitive information. This is also an exciting time to join the team and to shape the delivery of Legal Services in a complex and thriving Trust.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidates will need:
• To provide professional management of the Trust's claims and inquests.
• To represent the Trust at inquests and advise on healthcare legal matters.
• To manage more complex inquests and Court of Protection matters with panel firm support as required.
• To oversee and train junior staff and supervise and audit files in respect of healthcare matters.
• Promote learning across a number of internal stakeholders, in order to learn from inquests and facilitate a better patient/family experience to avoid unnecessary claims litigation and/or damage to the Trust's reputation.
• To provide training to staff in relation to legal processes including claims, inquests, mental capacity, consent and the deprivation of liberty.
• To be a qualified solicitor or barrister or have equivalent significant experience working in healthcare law, including conducting inquests, advocacy and assisting/handling Court of Protection and advisory matters.
• To work with professional leads across the Trust to enable the Trust to demonstrate its compliance with national policies and standards, including those set by the Coroner's Court and CQC.
• To support the Trust in improving quality and value of services, by learning from inquests and claims and liaising with colleagues to ensure relevant information is passed to NHS Resolution if an associated claim arises out of a healthcare matter.

Working for our organisation

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.7 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and around 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in Bromley.

Our values at King's, are that we're a kind, respectful team;

Kind. We show compassion and understanding and bring a positive attitude to our work

Respectful. We promote equality, are inclusive and honest, speaking up when needed

Team. We support each other, communicate openly, and are reassuringly professional

The trust-wide strategy Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (EDI) at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we can take Team King's to another level.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Administration Responsibilities

• Perform duties typically expected of an in-house NHS Trust Healthcare Lawyer / Legal Services Manager.
• Manage inquests and claims within the Trust, including:
  • Advocacy at hearings
  • Liaison with Department Leads for additional external expertise when needed.
• Take day-to-day responsibility for managing healthcare legal work within the department.
• Collaborate with Department Leads to ensure professional management of claims and inquests.
• Oversee and supervise junior staff on healthcare matters as directed by Department Leads.
• Manage court applications and Court of Protection matters, with external expertise when necessary and approved.
• Assist with advisory and other legal work as directed.
• Identify and report any immediate concerns about staff activities to Department Leads, including actions for retraining or ensuring patient safety.
• Arrange and attend meetings and Court hearings involving lawyers and Trust staff, providing information and support.
• Support Trust staff at all levels in preparing statements and giving evidence in Court.
• Arrange and provide training, education, and seminars on healthcare law for Trust staff, including senior leadership.
• Prepare or assist in the preparation of reports and briefs as directed by Department Leads.

2. Leadership

• Promote and implement best practices in managing claims and inquests.
• Ensure timely investigation and representation at inquests as required.
• Assist in supervising and training junior staff in healthcare legal matters.
• Support Department Leads in motivating and developing junior staff, promoting ethical and professional standards within a multidisciplinary network.
• Help identify remedial actions to prevent recurrence of adverse events.

3. Operational Performance

• Make representations to the Coroner when necessary, especially if the Trust is an Interested Party or is criticized.
• Present information to staff and external organizations, influencing the conduct of inquests.
• Handle contentious issues to reach resolution.
• Work constructively with internal and external stakeholders on sensitive issues.
• Provide support to staff affected by legal investigations or distressing event reviews.
• Build and maintain key relationships and networks both internally and externally.
• Liaise proactively with clinical staff, Patient Safety, Risk, Complaints, and Communications teams to ensure early issue identification.
• Act as an ambassador for the Trust, promoting its reputation and minimizing reputational damage.
• Develop positive relationships with external advisers and partners.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, able to communicate effectively in hostile or emotive situations and take appropriate action.

4. Research and Development

• Horizon scan for developments in healthcare law and best practices.
• Report findings and recommendations to Department Leads.

5. Policy and Process

• Analyse and interpret complex information and make actionable recommendations.
• Challenge and verify multiple information sources from senior Trust members for consistency and rationality.
• Interpret regulations and guidance for the Trust's benefit when dealing with healthcare matters.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• A qualified solicitor or barrister of England and Wales or demonstrable equivalent significant experience of working as a legal advisor on healthcare matters.
• Evidence of post graduate diploma level or equivalent experience of claims and / or inquest management, in the healthcare sector
• Member of relevant Professional Body / Practicing Certificate (e.g. Solicitors Regulation Authority; Bar Council).

Desirable criteria

• Inquest advocacy competence

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable experience in healthcare law as a legal advisor on a variety of healthcare matters
• Experience of appearing in court and representing clients in contentious matters.
• Competence in managing Court of Protection matters / Court applications
• Ability to provide prompt, accurate and consistent legal advice on healthcare regulatory matters.

Skills and Competencies

Essential criteria

• Able to represent the Trust at inquests and support staff accordingly.
• Able to understand when there is a need to escalate to Department Leads for guidance and support on more complex matters.
• Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines.
• Ability to prepare comprehensive reports on claims and inquests for various committees, often at short notice.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working on internal and external committees in order to raise Trust profile and bring learning and key development knowledge to the Trust.

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Click here to see the range of benefits we offer
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust's criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reports and Other Corporate Publications

King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website

King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• Healthcare Lawyer JD (PDF, 293.6KB)
• Denmark Hill Site Map (PDF, 1.2MB)
• Princess Royal (PRUH) Site map (PDF, 1.4MB)
• Visa and Sponsorship Information (PDF, 344.6KB)
• Pay bands and pay points from 1 April 2025 (PDF, 44.6KB)