As the owner of a law degree, I often get asked about why and how I did it, and I frequently see questions on medical social media forums asking for recommendations for legal qualifications and what career avenues a GP with some additional legal qualifications can pursue, so I’ve attempted to organise my thoughts and experiences on this.
My first observation would be that in order to work out what qualification might work best for you, it is necessary to understand the reason behind exploring additional qualifications in law.
My reason for doing a law degree was pretty simple – I was looking for a distraction and something to bury myself in whilst I was in the early stages of a divorce with an infant whom I was going to have to get used to being apart from for fifty percent of my time. Sure, I could have taken up baking or embarked on ‘couch to 5k’, but studying seemed more appealing. I was also working as an LMC medical director at the time and my LMC colleagues who had legal qualifications had always told me how useful they had found them for helping with the day job.
I had no plan beyond that, however. A two-year-long distraction, learning more about a subject of interest that could assist me with doing my job was good enough for me.
What I can now say confidently, with hindsight, is that the qualification has opened up career avenues, professional networks, and contributed to personal and professional fulfilment levels in a way that I would never have imagined. It has also most definitely paid for itself (and it wasn’t cheap…).
Looking at my ‘legal literacy’ purely from a GP point of view, it has given me broader insights into risk management, leadership, contracts, premises issues, employment issues, and regulatory requirements, all of which are very relevant to GPs of any contractual status.
Why might a GP pursue a legal qualification?
What additional avenues may it open up however beyond just giving a broader understanding of the legal issues affecting a GP?
A GP may consider a legal qualification for:
- Medicolegal advisory work through a medical defence organisation
- Medical examiner roles
- LMC roles
- Expert witness work
- Regulatory work such as Care Quality Commission advisory roles or General Medical Council roles
- Tribunal work eg with the Department for Work and Pensions
- Policy and commissioning work
- Leadership and management roles
What I can say is that a legal qualification will never be a sufficient replacement for paid-for legal advice in the event that it is needed. Lawyers will be the first to instruct another lawyer to represent them, and for good reasons!
What qualifications are available?
There are different types of qualifications out there, depending on time available, costs, and the purpose for the additional knowledge and skills.
Graduate entry law degrees (LLBs) and postgraduate law conversion courses (the GDL) will provide the first step in the requirements to becoming a solicitor or a barrister; the equivalent in our field would be the medical degree before then moving on to foundation training and the specialist training.
I opted for the GDL on a distance learning part-time basis so I only needed to drop one or two clinical days a week rather than have a prolonged period of time completely away from clinical work (and therefore from earning).
The fees were roughly £15,000, although this was several years ago, and I probably spent 2-3 days a week studying. It was therefore a big undertaking, as there really are no shortcuts to learning and memorising the law and how to apply it to the facts of a case, but I wouldn’t say it was more difficult than a medical degree. Indeed I’m reminded of what a lawyer told me when I was considering taking the challenge on – ‘If you’ve got a medical degree you can do a law degree’.
Master of Law (LLMs) on the other hand, are postgraduate degrees focused on a specialised area of law, perhaps with a medical slant, for example ‘medical law and ethics’. These are often preferred by doctors as they are focussed on medical law specifically rather than the more general law degrees I mentioned before that cover topics that may feel less relevant such as land law, equity, public law etc.
Although all of the options are costly, both in terms of the fees and time commitment involved, I have come across medics who have managed to have their fees sponsored by their employer if they have done a good job at convincing their employer to see it as an investment in their workforce and ultimately the quality of the output the employee is then able to provide.
What avenues did it open for you?
Gaining the GDL allowed me to perform my LMC role to a higher standard, and as time went on, a clearer path emerged as my interests in dispute resolution grew.
I was able to more confidently discuss issues relating to the GP contract with practices and commissioners, and negotiate difficult conversations around breach notices, list closures etc. Supporting partnerships that were going through internal conflict and how to practically resolve those within the bounds of partnership law and the GMS regulations became something I was passionate about.
I therefore made the decision to do mediation training and accreditation (with CEDR) so I could provider more intensive support to practices and PCNs finding themselves in conflict, and I now have a successful career as a mediator alongside my clinical work. I believe I would not have had the confidence to do this had I not gained the law degree, as the disputes I mediate have often ‘gone legal’ or involve legal matters such as contracts, premises, or employment issues.
The qualification has also opened up leadership doors – medical director and equivalent roles require an understanding of corporate and clinical governance – and gave me some of the confidence required to found a software start-up (more on that another time…).
In summary, I can thoroughly recommend a legal qualification to my GP colleagues, assuming that the time to complete one is not an obstacle; the funding can potentially be worked around if a sponsor is found and it is possible to continue clinical work whilst studying, like I did. I would encourage the focus to be on what the expectations are from a career after the qualification, as this will then help to narrow down the right course to enrol on. There is a growing number of legally qualified GPs out there that have gone on to pursue portfolio careers – if you’re one of them, or would like to be one of them, do connect with me!
