As a leading independent law firm, Brabners are pleased to be part of McClarrons Care Network. We are dedicated to making a difference for our clients. Whether supporting routine legal needs or complex, business-critical projects – we are here for our clients when it matters most.
Brabners has over 430 people, which includes over 80 partners and 290 legal experts. We provide legal services to large and mid-sized businesses, SMEs, public sector bodies, charities, business owners, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals.
Increasingly, the legal issues which businesses face require a multi-disciplinary approach to secure the best outcome. The breadth and depth of our team, together with our understanding of the commercial environments in which our clients operate, means we are able to provide you with commercially focussed and pragmatic advice. We deliver solutions, provide value and are trusted partners to those with whom we work. The clients we advise are located throughout the country.
As a full-service law firm, we are well-placed to support you with all of your legal needs, including expertise in regulatory investigations and prosecutions, employment, commercial, corporate, litigation and real estate – all of which are of particular relevance to clients operating within the care sector. Further information on our legal offering has been provided below.
Regulatory
Our Regulatory team can support, advise and represent your business in relation to all investigations and prosecutions (e.g. CQC, police and local authorities), regulatory notices (e.g. notice of proposal and notice of decision) and factual accuracy checks.
We assist on investigations every step of the way from preparing for and attending interviews under caution, through to tribunal and court proceedings. We can deal with the smallest compliance query or we can be on hand to support and advise you following any major incident.
In relation to care homes, we understand how a home operates and the pressures faced by staff and management. Engagement with the CQC and local authority is key and a proactive and realistic approach, together with a willingness to address any identified issues, is required. We can see things from the perspective of the carers, the care home and also from the service users and their families. Frequently, when something goes wrong, these perspectives are not aligned and this can result in a regulatory, or sometimes even, police investigation into the home and its employees.
Representing care homes across the country, we assist both small providers and multiple site operators. We also advise in relation to crisis management and reputational protection throughout the lifetime of an investigation, with all of these being vitally important to you and your business.
We also provide guidance and support when a care provider faces a request for information or a witness statement from a Coroner investigating a death, and when the provider finds itself or its staff called as an Interested Person at an Inquest. Serious reputational damage can occur at an Inquest, so expert legal representation is vital.
Health and Safety
Health and safety go hand-in-hand with the provision of safe and effective care. If an issue arises, the resulting investigation could prove financially and reputationally damaging – especially if evidence of wrongdoing is found on your part. We offer a preventative, proactive approach to health and safety matters to help you avoid an investigation with practical advice to help you reach a successful outcome. We are highly experienced in the most serious of cases where a death is involved in a care setting and the authorities, starting with the police, investigate.
Employment
Our Employment team provides businesses with all the tools they need to avoid employment issues arising, including employment contracts, policies and training. When issues do arise, we are skilled and experienced in dealing with claims in Employment Tribunals.
We advise on all employment matters, from day-to-day queries to more complex and project-based matters such as international recruitment, compliance with immigration requirements, reorganisations, TUPE, restructures, redundancies and union matters.
Corporate
Along with providing a full range of services, we collaborate with the teams across our firm to ensure you receive fully integrated, comprehensive advice. We have acted on over 100 healthcare transactions over the past 12 months.
We advise on care sector business sales, acquisitions and mergers, private equity, debt and forms of funding, governance, group re-organisations, complex corporate, commercial or funding structures and joint venture and shareholder arrangements. We also advise on insolvency and the acquisition of distressed assets and provide transactional tax advice. We understand the market, the regulatory requirements and the typical challenges involved in care sector business transactions.
Deal Advisory
Our Deal Advisory team is made up of corporate finance accountants and can help you make informed decisions tailored to your goals and objectives, guiding you through the deal process to secure the right outcome for you. We routinely advise on multi-million-pound deals, as well as supporting SMEs on smaller transactions, tailoring our process to meet the needs of each individual client.
Business Immigration
Our Business Immigration team has extensive technical expertise and works with a range of healthcare providers, advising them on all aspects of compliance with UK immigration laws including the requirements of the Skilled Worker visa, the immigration law implications of mergers and acquisitions, visitor rules for business visitors, the prevention of illegal working and Home Office inspections.
Commercial
Our Commercial practice includes specialists who can advise on commercial contracts, terms of business, e-commerce, IT contracts, data protection, public procurement, competition law and intellectual property. We advise clients of all sizes from start-up entrepreneurs, owner-managed businesses and SMEs to landed estates, AIM-listed companies and PLCs.
Data Protection
Data protection is of increasing importance to many businesses and individuals and is subject to increasing levels of regulation. It can be easy for an organisation to lose track of its obligations, whether as a data controller or as a processor acting on behalf of a third party. Given the potential fines at stake for unlawful use of personal data, staying on top of compliance requirements is crucial.
Our data protection experts assist with employment matters (e.g. Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs)), data breach claims and general compliance. We frequently advise clients on putting in place and monitoring suitable external and internal privacy policies, complying with direct marketing rules and ensuring any data-sharing arrangements are appropriate.
Litigation
Our Litigation team will do all they can to settle disputes in the most effective manner. Whatever dispute you face, we will resolve the matter as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Sometimes litigation is unavoidable and our highly experienced team will help you through the process, always with your best interests and objectives in mind. We have a track record of successfully resolving commercial, financial and professional disputes for individuals and for businesses ranging from SMEs to household names.
Real Estate
Our Real Estate team advises on property investment, management, development, litigation, planning, environmental and property tax matters. They advise on all property aspects connected with the sale and purchase process, as well as supporting portfolio management in respect of routine property matters including Landlord and Tenant advice.
Added Value Service
Our clients rely on us for more than just core legal advice. This includes providing the support they need, including bespoke training, employment law updates, events, and thought leadership. We are pleased to offer the following services to McClarrons Care Network:
- An open line of communication with your Client Relationship Manager.
- A free 30-minute initial advice call with a lawyer or advisor in the relevant department for your query. Access will be via a designated phone number manned by two personal assistants (Regulatory team and Employment team) and overseen by your Client Relationship Manager. Should further legal work be required, discounted hourly rates will be offered or we can usually work to an agreed discounted fixed fee.
- Free quarterly events including 30-60 mins webinar sessions on care-specific topics (e.g. CQC’s Single Assessment Framework, managing your relationship with the CQC, dealing with CQC investigations and notices etc.).
- Bespoke and in-depth training will be available upon request with rates to be negotiated directly with McClarrons Care Network clients. By way of example, such subjects could include tailored health and safety training for operators and managers, tailored employment law training courses on practical employment law situations and providing cost-effective and business-focused solutions to employment law problems.
- Brabners Protect: McClarrons Care Network clients can benefit from a discount on our bespoke health and safety product which delivers a high-quality service, aligned with the requirements of your business. Brabners Protect provides proactive and reactive support on health and safety matters, our experts help ensure your H&S policies/procedures are robust and compliant, as well as advising on investigations and delivering crisis response support for your business.
Brabners Protect provides more than an ‘off the shelf’ product, offering a range of service levels. Clients benefit from a product tailored to specific needs, delivering high-quality service aligned with the requirements of their business. The service provides the support a business needs, whether a light touch audit function, a more traditional consultancy arrangement or something in between, meaning that a client pays for the support its business needs and nothing more. The product is designed to provide assurance at the board and senior management level and assists in demonstrating that your organisation is well-led. Whilst we focus on proactive compliance, if an incident occurs our experienced team of lawyers will be on hand immediately to assist a client with an accident investigation via our 24-hour crisis management telephone support service. In addition, our consultants will be similarly on hand to deal with your day-to-day health and safety queries.
Brabners is here to help care home operators navigate the challenges that may lie ahead. For all enquiries, please do not hesitate the team on 0333 004 4488 or at hello@brabners.com.
Updated Jan 2026
