Private and public sector law firm Browne Jacobson has expanded its health practice hiring Christian Dingwall and Rebecca Hainsworth (pictured), who will be based in the firm’s Manchester office.

Dingwall joins the firm as a partner with more than 30 years’ experience in the healthcare sector, specialising in corporate commercial law, NHS governance, regulation and compliance, with a focus on advising NHS bodies on organisational and service transformation.

He previously worked at law firm Hempsons, leading the NHS corporate commercial department and his experience includes establishing Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust after the merger of the former Central Manchester and South Manchester trusts.

Hainsworth is a corporate and competition lawyer, who also previously worked at Hempsons,  and was also an in-house lawyer at NHS regulatory body NHS Improvement.

She has experience advising NHS bodies and public and private sector organisations on a range of competition and merger control matters, and she has advised on a series of mergers, including the establishment of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust following the merger of the former Colchester and Ipswich trusts.

Browne Jacobson health partner and head of the Manchester office Amanda Callaghan said: “Our health team continues to grow at an exceptional rate, and the addition of Christian and Rebecca, who have both been at the helm of major UK-wide NHS transactions, further signals our commitment to building our Northwest practice.

“Healthcare continues to be a core focus of the firm, and it is an area in which we thrive. Having a strong health practice, alongside an equally impressive social care practice, is a real strength, giving us a distinct advantage in advising clients delivering integrated care projects. We’re seeing a consistently high demand for our services from NHS bodies, local authorities and major independent sector providers, so will continue to grow our offering to match.”