Catherine Dixon
Chief executive
NHS Litigation Authority
Catherine Dixon, who joined the NHSLA in April 2012, is working closely with its panel of legal firms to ensure that value for money is delivered to the NHS. She will shortly be leading a legal panel tender to engage legal services for the NHSLA and other NHS bodies, which is due to complete on 1 April this year. ‘Procuring legal services is always a sophisticated purchase. It has to be the right price but it’s key that it’s the right quality,’ she says.
The NHSLA has seen its legal spend increase dramatically in recent years. According to its most recent accounts, in 2010/11 total legal spend stood at £257m, up from £163m in 2009/10.
Law firms used: Bevan Brittan, Browne Jacobson, Capsticks, Clyde & Co, DAC Beachcroft, Hempsons, Hill Dickinson, Kennedys, Ward Hadaway, Weightmans
2012-present: Chief executive, NHS Litigation Authority
2010-12: General counsel and company secretary, NSPCC 2008-09:Director, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
1999-2006: Commercial director, Bupa