About Clare Bates
Clare Bates attained a degree in law (LLB Honours) from Queens University in 1995 before joining Carson McDowell as a trainee later that year. She was admitted as a Solicitor in 1997 and joined the litigation department of Carson McDowell where she developed an interest and expertise in Clinical Negligence and Healthcare. She became a partner in the Healthcare team in 2010.
Clare is instructed by various by Medical Defence Organisations in Northern Ireland. She deals with all aspects of County Court and High Court Litigation and in the vast majority of claims in which she is instructed, she drafts Pleadings, appears before the Master and Senior Queen’s Bench Judge to deal with interlocutory matters and reviews and adopts a proactive approach to the claim from initial instruction through to conclusion of the claim.
Clare is a specialist in dental negligence and is regularly instructed by Dental Protection to appear on behalf of their members in Northern Ireland. In Chambers 2015 Sources highlight her expertise as a litigator, and describe her as "very efficient and well informed”.
Clare has provided advice to both public and private healthcare organisations, on a range of regulatory and ethical issues. Her clients include pharmacy owners, individual pharmacists, dentists, doctors and other healthcare professionals. Clare sits as a Legal Adviser to the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.
She has developed expertise in information law and has advised public authorities and private clients in relation to Freedom of Information and data protection issues, to include advising on complex subject access requests, assisting organisations following a data breach, advising on ICO investigations and appearing at the Information Rights Tribunal.
Clare Bates is noted in the Chambers 2017 guide for her handling of complex, high-value dental claims. She is a well-regarded litigator who is described by interviewees as "calm and authoritative."