Clients value our barristers’ knowledge of law relating to extensive local government issues and practical insight.
We are on the panels to represent the majority of local authorities in the South East of England and also act for many others.
In particular, we have developed considerable expertise in community care and social services cases, these include:
- charging for community care services
- eligibility for services (eg ordinary residence, accommodation for 16/17 year-olds and the intentionally homeless, Schedule 3 to the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002)
- applications relating to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Court of Protection.
- age assessments concerning asylum-seekers.
Our highly ranked housing barristers frequently act for local authority landlords in anti-social behaviour, homelessness and allocations cases and possession proceedings.
We often defend local authorities in judicial reviews especially in proceedings concerning the relationship between the Care Act 2014 and the Housing Act 1996.
But our expertise extends beyond this. For example, two of our barristers acted for the successful local authority in a multimillion pound property development case where a business was claiming ownership through adverse possession.
Local authority clients benefit from many of our local government barristers having expertise in related areas such as housing, Court of Protection, family, property and protest law.