Medico-Legal Partnership

Expert psychiatric
evidence you can
rely on.

Specialist medico-legal reports from NHS-active consultant psychiatrists. Trusted by solicitors and legal professionals for the most complex matters.

Instruct Us Our Specialisms
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About Us

A boutique medico-legal partnership of leading specialists

Denman & Partners brings together some of the most experienced psychiatric minds in the UK. Our experts hold senior NHS positions and have appeared before the Royal Courts of Justice, the Court of Protection, and at inquests and regulatory hearings before the GMC, NMC, GDC and IOPC.

We work with equal rigour across litigation, coronial and regulatory matters — providing balanced, authoritative opinions wherever the legal process demands psychiatric expertise.

20+ Years expert witness experience
Both Claimant & defendant instructions

Areas of Practice

Our Specialisms

We provide expert reports across the full spectrum of complex psychiatric presentations.

Personality Disorders & PTSD

Expert assessment and reporting in complex personality disorder presentations, PTSD, and trauma-related conditions. Our experts include nationally recognised specialists in personality disorder who have written and published widely in the field.

Borderline PD Complex PTSD Psychosexual Inpatient Deaths Outpatient Deaths

Eating Disorders

Specialist reports in anorexia nervosa, bulimia and related presentations. Our experts include the Clinical Lead for Eating Disorders at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust, providing both in-patient and community expertise.

Anorexia Bulimia In-patient Community

Medical Psychotherapy & Neurodevelopmental

Expert opinion in medical psychotherapy, learning disabilities, ADHD and autism spectrum conditions. Our experts bring oversight from the NHS Personality Disorder Community Service alongside wider neurodevelopmental expertise.

ADHD Autism Learning Disability Psychotherapy

Court of Protection & Expert Witness

Court-ready psychiatric reports for civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings. Our experts have given evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice, Court of Protection, and before coroners and the GMC. All instructed experts hold Section 12 approval or Approved Clinician status.

Court of Protection Royal Courts Coroners Inquests GMC & Regulatory

The Practice

Our Experts

Each instruction is handled by a named consultant with directly relevant clinical expertise.

FD

Dr Francesca Denman

Founder & co-Managing Partner

Consultant psychiatrist and former Medical Director of Cambridge & Peterborough Foundation NHS Trust. Dr Denman has over 20 years of expert witness experience across civil and criminal cases, coroners, and regulatory proceedings. A special interest in personality disorder, PTSD, and psychosexual disorders, with a significant research and publication record in these areas.

Personality Disorders PTSD Psychosexual Disorders 20+ Years Experience
PP

Dr Pamela Peters

Consultant Psychiatrist

Consultant psychiatrist in Medical Psychotherapy and Clinical Lead at the Personality Disorder Community Service, CPFT. Associate Clinical Director of the Specialist Care Group, overseeing in-patient and community eating disorders, forensic, learning disability, ADHD and autism services. Has given expert evidence in court, including at coroners' courts and the Court of Protection.

Medical Psychotherapy Personality Disorders ADHD & Autism Forensic
JD

Dr Julia Deakin

Consultant Psychiatrist

Consultant psychiatrist specialising in eating disorders at CPFT. Approved under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act and an Approved Clinician. Dr Deakin has worked for both claimant and defendant parties and has presented evidence before the Court of Protection. A particular expertise in complex in-patient and community eating disorder presentations.

Eating Disorders Section 12 Approved Approved Clinician Court of Protection

Our Management Team

The operational and business development leads who support our experts and ensure every instruction is handled with care.

Sam Buchanan

Sam Buchanan

Solicitor & co-Managing Partner

With over 25 years experience at city law firms and Big-4 consultancies, Sam is our co-founding Partner and responsible for the management of the practice. Overseeing instruction handling, quality assurance, and the day-to-day running of the partnership, Sam is focused on building trusted client relationships.

Rachael Cubberley

Rachael Cubberley PhD

Partner & Business Development Lead

A scientist by background, Rachael retrained as a physiotherapist before moving into health education. She was Head of the School of Allied Health & Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University and now leads our business development and expert recruitment. Rachael is the principal point of contact for clinicians interested in joining our expert panel.

Why Instruct Us

The Denman & Partners difference

We are built for the demands of complex psychiatric matters.

Impartial & CPR-Compliant

All reports are prepared in strict accordance with Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules. We work equally for claimant and defendant — our duty is to the court.

NHS-Active Consultants

Our experts maintain active senior NHS clinical roles, ensuring their opinions are grounded in current best practice, contemporary treatment guidelines and lived clinical reality.

Legal Administration

Every instruction is coordinated by our solicitor co-Managing Partner. Prompt acknowledgement, clear timelines, and proactive communication throughout — because your client's case cannot wait.

Realistic Turnaround

We discuss timelines at instruction and manage expectations clearly. Urgent instructions are accommodated wherever clinically possible — speak to us about your deadline.

Deep Specialism

We do not span every medical discipline. We focus exclusively on psychiatric matters where we have genuine depth — personality disorder, eating disorders, medical psychotherapy, and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Courtroom Tested

Our experts have given oral evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice, Court of Protection, inquests and regulatory tribunals. Under cross-examination, they remain calm, measured and focused on their duty to the court.

"Expert evidence that was extremely well delivered under some tough cross-examination — calm, measured and genuinely helpful to the court."

Instructing Solicitor — Personal Injury, High Court

How We Work

From instruction to court

1

Initial Enquiry

Contact us with your case outline. We'll confirm availability and the right expert for your matter, usually within 24 hours, with an initial fee estimate.

2

Letter of Instruction

Send your formal letter of instruction and supporting papers. We confirm the fee estimate and realistic timeline before proceeding.

3

Assessment & Report

Where relevant, the expert conducts a clinical assessment of the subject. Reports are prepared to the standards appropriate to the matter — whether for civil litigation, coroners' inquests, breach of duty, or cases where assessment is conducted on papers alone.

4

Ongoing Support

We are available for supplementary questions, joint statements, and oral evidence where required — including at trial, hearings and inquests.

Get in Touch

Instruct us

To enquire whether our experts have the specialism your matter requires, or to request a fee estimate for an instruction, please get in touch. We respond to all enquiries promptly.

Location
Remote appointments available nationally
Clinics in London and Cambridge for in-person appointments