A team of our barristers including our 2 pupil barristers are set to take part in the 10km London Legal Walk on Tuesday 18 June. Together with more than 15,000 others, we will walk to raise funds for free legal services across London and the South East. The money raised goes to charities that provide legal advice and representation to people in need.
Nikolas Clarke represented the local authority's social services team in an Article 2 jury inquest into the death of 97-year-old, PB. PB had a support plan provided by the local authority . He had a history of cognitive decline and was known to wander and get lost. The jury concluded that PB's death had been an accident.
Joshua Swirsky defended the successful local authority in the Court of Appeal case of R (Campbell) v LB Ealing. Judgment handed down today focuses on how a local authority’s obligations under the Care Act 2014 interact with its obligations under Parts VI and VII of the Housing Act 1996 - in particular, how s.23 of the Care Act should be properly interpreted.
Nikolas Clarke represented the local authority in an inquest into the death of CB. CB took their own life at the specialist children’s home where they had lived as a ‘looked after child’. They had been known to social services and mental health services throughout their life. The coroner’s conclusion was death by suicide. No causative or possibly causative findings were made against the local authority.
Madeleine Southey represented the successful claimant, RG, in an unfair dismissal claim against his former employer on the basis of disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.
We welcome applications from barristers with expertise in our core practice areas: Business, Employment, Family, Housing, Property, Public law and Court of Protection. Almost 50% of our members have at least one ranking in either Chambers and Partners or Legal 500, or in both.
Suzannah Cotterill has been appointed to the Sport Resolutions Panel of Mediators from 1 April 2024. As well as her family law practice, Suzannah focuses on sports law, mostly equestrian law. She advises and represents parties in disputes involving horse sales and purchases, breach of contract as well as in related personal injury claims. She also acts for clients before sporting disciplinary and regulatory bodies.
Christine Cooper represented 2 attorneys for a woman with dementia (MAM) in Court of Protection proceedings brought by the Office of the Public Guardian. The Public Guardian had applied to revoke the attorneys’ lasting powers of attorney alleging they acted contrary to MAM’s best interests. Unusually the court ordered the Public Guardian to pay half the attorneys’ legal costs.
Francis Hoar represented the local authority at the inquest into the death of Eileen Dean. Mrs Dean had been killed by another resident at the care home where she lived. The jury reached a narrative conclusion which recorded that the local authority had not been passed information about risks posed by the other resident before he was placed in the care home.
Rebecca Handcock represented an 18-year-old man deprived of his liberty in a placement sourced for him by the local authority. He has a diagnosis of autism and ADHD. The local authority unlawfully and significantly restricted his contact with his parents. Rebecca successfully argued on his behalf that he be allowed unrestricted contact with them.