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Meredith Jacobs

Special Counsel

Brisbane

+61 7 3225 5961

Meredith is an experienced health law specialist based in our Brisbane office with extensive experience in medical negligence, coronial and disciplinary matters.  She has a special interest in medico-legal ethics and has instructed on many complex hearings on consent, capacity, end of life and best interests issues.

EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Meredith has experience working both in private practice and in-house, on behalf of doctors and allied health staff. She spent 13 years working as the Head of Legal Services at a large, acute teaching hospital in London which involved interacting closely with all levels of medical staff in a wide variety of medico-legal contexts. She is an experienced speaker on many areas of health law.

As a result of her extensive experience, Meredith is particularly well-equipped to work with clinical staff in defending claims, preparing for inquests, assisting in registration and disciplinary responses, and providing advice on legal matters that arise within a health setting. Meredith has also sat on a clinical ethics committee in the UK.

Clients value Meredith’s down-to-earth approach as an experienced and skilled legal technician who, as a result of working in-house, also has a good understanding of the practical difficulties facing health practitioners in their everyday work.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Meredith’s reported decisions include:

  • Withdrawal of treatment (children): King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and T,V and ZT [2014] EWHC 3315 (Fam); King’s College Hospital NGS Foundation Trust and MH [2015] EWHC 1920
  • Capacity to refuse treatment: King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and C&V [2015] EWCOP 80 (reported internationally)
  • Capacity/best interests re Iranian doctor on hunger strike: King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and T,V and ZT [2014] EWHC 3315 (Fam)
  • Represented King’s College Hospital in 8 hearings in coronial proceedings leading up to High Court decision Esegbona and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 77 (QB)
  • Represented the second and third respondents in Lang v McArthur & Ors [2019] QSC 119

Recognition

Publication and Papers

Meredith has written papers for and presented to various local and national bodies, both in Australia and in the UK.

Awards / Accolades

Ranked in the peer-reviewed Best Lawyers® in Australia list for Medical Negligence from 2019 - 2022.

‘Inspo’ list, Women Lawyers Association Queensland, 2019

Expertise

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Laws, 1997, University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Arts, 1997, University of Queensland
  • Master of Arts (Medical Law and Ethics), 2011, University of Manchester (UK)

Memberships

  • Queensland Law Society
  • Medico-Legal Society of Queensland
  • Queensland HEAL (Health Ethics and Law)