Overview
Wendy is Head of the Professional Discipline and Regulatory Team at 5SAH. She is ranked in the Legal 500 as a leading barrister within the field of Professional Discipline and Regulatory law.
‘ Wendy is a tour de force with impeccable judgement. She defends a range of professionals before their regulators and does so with complete charm. She has always identified the exact pitfalls in the case and is meticulous in her preparation often achieving quite frankly astounding results for her clients. ’
‘An outstanding advocate with well-honed interpersonal skills. Tribunals admire her attention to detail and her approach is always borne of complete preparation, focussed and concise: when Wendy speaks, tribunals listen.’
The Legal 500 2022 & 2021.
Wendy practices exclusively in professional discipline and regulatory work.
What others say about Wendy:
“Wendy Hewitt is a first-rate barrister in the field of professional discipline. Her cross-examination skills are silk quality, particularly when dealing with a sensitive issue. Clients warm to her instantly and she builds a fantastic rapport with them, which in turn brings out the best in them when they are giving evidence. Panels find her engaging and she gets brilliant results. Her advice is reliable and always on point. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”
Marie Dancer, Managing Partner, Richard Nelson LLP
“Having worked with Wendy on a wide range of cases I have found her to be extremely client focused and an excellent advocate with exceptionally good judgement, persuasive arguments and excellent cross-examination skills. She provides a top-level of service to her instructing solicitors and is an absolute delight to instruct and work with.”
Baljit Bagha, Solicitor, The Pharmacists’ Defence Association
“I have known Wendy Hewitt for some years now and have instructed her in respect of several tricky HCPC professional discipline cases. On each occasion she has done a tremendous job. Wendy’s manner with clients (particularly when discussing difficult matters) is second to none, her case preparation is meticulous and she is someone in whom one can have absolute confidence. I recommend her to other specialist practitioners and look forward to continuing to work together.”
Andrea James, Partner, Brabners
Additional information
Before converting to the Bar, Wendy trained and qualified in 1998 as a solicitor in a magic circle City law firm.
Professional Discipline & Regulatory
Healthcare
In the medical and healthcare professions, Wendy specialises in advising and representing individuals at all stages in Fitness to Practise proceedings (whether involving misconduct, health, conviction/caution or lack of competence or clinical failings). She accepts instructions at all stages of a case’s life, from interim orders to substantive/principal hearings, or at review hearings following an order of suspension. Examples of regulators before whom Wendy regularly appears are the MPTS, HCPTS, GPhC, GDC and NMC.
She appears in the High Court dealing with appeals brought by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), and in connection with applications for extensions to interim orders.
Recent examples include:
- Professional Standards Agency v HCPC and Wood [2019] EWHC 2819 (Admin)
- Professional Standards Agency v HCPC and Roberts [2020] EWHC 1906 (Admin)
- GPhC v Kellett and Gamble [2020] 6 WLUK 456
She also has expertise in registration appeals, fraudulently or incorrectly procured entry cases and restoration applications.
Wendy's work also includes advising and representing:
- Regulated healthcare professionals in the workplace and Trust disciplinary hearings and appeals;
- Doctors in Annual Review of Competence Progress (ARCP) Outcomes appeals;
Teaching
Wendy represents teachers facing proceedings at the TRA where teachers face allegations amounting to unacceptable professional conduct/conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.
Students
Wendy frequently represents University students in Fitness to Practise hearings and appeals, particularly in allegations of sexual misconduct which have been investigated by the University rather than by the police. One recent client wrote:
“I am a young man at university, and I plan on entering the professional world on completion of my degree. With my whole life ahead of me I couldn’t have been happier, only for a serious allegation to be made against me, which threatened my future prospects. I decided that the best course of action was to contact Ms Wendy Hewitt to help defend me against this allegation. This was one of the best decisions I have made. Ms Hewitt was not only extremely hard-working, dedicated and talented, but also kind and compassionate to my plight. I was offered assistance, both practically in defending the allegation against me, but also in constantly supporting me throughout the entire process. Ms Hewitt demonstrated her clear expertise and was successful in my case... I could not recommend the services of Ms Hewitt enough.”
Criminal Defence
Before focussing solely on defending in professional discipline and regulatory work, Wendy also undertook criminal cases, both prosecuting and defending. As a hallmark of Wendy’s achievement and expertise in these areas, she was previously, a Grade 4 prosecutor (the highest grading) and a Rape and Serious Sexual Offences specialist.
She has both prosecuted and defended the full calendar of criminal offences. This experience enables her to represent, where appropriate, a professional registrant in hearings and trials in the Magistrates’ or Crown Courts. Examples of when this might arise are where a registrant or teacher faces a criminal charge for historic sexual allegations, or for a violent domestic dispute.
Inquests & Inquiries
Wendy accepts instructions in relation to Public Inquiries and Inquests. She regularly represents doctors or nurses where they are named as Interested Persons as a consequence of their interactions with the deceased.
Professional Memberships
- Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL).
