Court of Protection

Vulnerable adults, such as those who are unable to manage their own affairs, are able to be assisted by the Court of Protection.

Barristers at St Pauls Chambers have significant experience in advising on Court of Protection cases with regards to human rights claims, property and affairs, welfare and medical conditions and treatment in relation to the individual-state relationship.

The Court of Protection is led by Simon Bickler QC has a breadth of experienced counsel from junior call to senior juniors and those in silk.

Counsel can assist with all aspects of these highly specialist areas of law.

Our members are uniquely placed to assist in these matters. We advise at the pre-action stage, which includes offering opinions and drafting pleading, and we also offer high quality advocacy and expert negotiation services should the case move towards such an end.

Members appear regularly and are regularly instructed by the full range of interested parties (including those acting through the Official Solicitor or other Litigation Friends). With significant experience in the related areas of health and social care and social housing, the team is able to comprehensively advise clients at short notice or on an emergency basis, across the full spectrum of Court of Protection issues including capacity, best interests decisions, deprivation of liberty, forced marriages, proceedings under the Mental Capacity Act and Children Act, and matters relating to the Care Act.

Our work includes:

• Welfare applications, including housing (whether a care setting or family home is in the person’s best interests), family member contact disputes, and complex cases involving restriction of liberty
• Applications for serious medical treatment
• Emergency applications such as transferring a person lacking capacity to a new care setting
• Advising on the community care law issues and local authority safeguarding duties
• Appointment of deputies (e.g. in the cases of welfare and financial affairs),
• Property and affairs applications, e.g. arrangements for the person lacking capacity’s affairs necessitated by a move to supported living or into long-term residential care
• Proceedings involving 16 and 17 year olds, and the overlapping jurisdictions of the Court of Protection and Children Act 1989