Clinical Negligence Accreditation
The accreditation covers work you do on cases involving any act of negligence, breach of contract and/or statutory duty where the claimant has sustained injuries in the course of medical or dental care.
Being accredited:
- ensures that clients can identify you as a legal practitioner with proven competency in clinical negligence law
- demonstrates that you comply with a best practice quality mark that clients can trust
- shows that you maintain relevant standards of competency and expertise in the field through re-accreditation
Eligibility
To apply for the accreditation, you must be one of the following:
- a claimant solicitor
- a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx)
You must also have:
- been personally conducting clinical negligence work for claimants for at least three years
- completed at least 24 clinical negligence cases over the last three years
- had at least six cases taken as far as case management conference and three to meetings of experts
The accreditation is designed for claimants. You cannot be accredited if you act solely for defendants.
If you act for both sides, you’ll have to satisfy us that you can conduct actions properly on behalf of claimants.
If you do not exactly meet the entry criteria, we’ll consider your application if you can demonstrate a detailed and up-to-date understanding of clinical negligence litigation.
For example, you may be in a supervisory role where your caseload is small but consists of high-value, complex cases.
How to apply
To apply for accreditation, you’ll need to:
- meet the eligibility requirements
- submit a detailed application
- submit a portfolio
The accreditation process takes around six to eight weeks.
It can take longer if we receive high volumes of applications or if you do not give us all the information we need.
Re-accreditation
Membership of the Clinical Negligence Accreditation lasts for three years.
You can apply to be re-accredited up to three months before your accreditation expires.
Find out about re-accreditation
Cost
The cost of the accreditation is made up of an application fee and a membership fee.
We’ll send you an invoice when we receive your application.
| Application | Application fee | Membership fee | Total (including VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial application | £216 | £299 | £618 |
| Re-accreditation | £216 | £299 | £618 |
| Other fees | Cost | Total (including VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Late application | £103 | £123.60 |
| Certificate re-issue | £10 | £12 |
| Appeal against decision to refuse accreditation | £258 | £309.60 |
Promoting your accreditation
We have logos, certificates, window stickers and more for you to promote your accreditation.
Membership
Download a list of Clinical Negligence accredited members (PDF 326 KB)
This list is updated monthly.
Contact us
Call: 020 7320 5797
Email: accreditation@lawsociety.org.uk
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday