Court of Protection & Human Rights Solicitors

Legal help for patients and families affected by the Court of Protection and human rights issues.

Need Advice?

How can our specialist Human Rights and Court of Protection lawyers help you?

We are completely committed to upholding the human rights and civil liberties of our clients , and our work in this area and with the Court of Protection is some of the most important we do.
Based in Aldershot, Hampshire, Bison Solicitors also has offices in Manchester, St Alban’s and Bristol. We are therefore well placed to help individuals and their families all over the country.

You can be sure that we will do all we can to ensure that the welfare and interests of our clients are met and their needs and assets are protected. We only ever act for individuals and families – never for health authorities or other organisations.

Our Court of Protection and Human Rights team combines a wide range of expertise and experience. Two of our senior solicitors each worked for local authorities for many years. They bring first-hand experience of how to navigate what can be a very complicated system, often involving numerous public bodies and large organisations, and crossing many areas of legislation.

Our team has particular expertise in advising on matters falling under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and we also draw on our expertise in other areas as required.

Safeguarding your rights

A large area of our work involves advising and representing individuals who lack mental capacity plus their representatives on very important matters concerning their right to liberty (Article 5) and right to a private and family life (Article 8).

A breach of these civil liberties by public bodies or organisations is considered a hugely significant intrusion into a person’s life and requires specialist, detailed and meticulous legal advice and representation. We are able to simplify and guide our clients through this complex process in a supportive and compassionate way in order to achieve an appropriate remedy and hold those responsible bodies to account.

We can also assist individuals and their families in the making or terminating of Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court-Appointed Deputyships (for property and affairs, and/or health and welfare).

What is the Court of Protection?

The Court of Protection was created under the Mental Capacity Act of 2005. It is a specialist court which is concerned with safeguarding the property, financial affairs and personal welfare of those who have been assessed as lacking the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. The Court has a wide range of powers from deciding complex matters concerning a person’s care and treatment to decisions concerning the validity of lasting powers of attorney and the appointment of deputies.

Our Court of Protection solicitors can guide you or a family member through all proceedings involving the court, working zealously and compassionately to achieve the best possible outcome. Sometimes individuals or families come directly to us; on other occasions, we’re appointed on behalf of others by their independent advocates, advocacy organisations and the Official Solicitor.

We will also explain the application process, including any fees associated with the Court of Protection or Office of the Public Guardian. If applicable, we can assist you with applying for a fee reduction. In some cases we can provide you with legal aid to cover all associated legal fees and disbursements. This is subject to an assessment to meet the criteria for public funding for your case.

If you aren’t eligible for legal aid, then we can act for you as a private client offering competitive rates reflective of the complexity of your matter and the level of expertise of our fee earners. In some cases, we can offer a conditional fee agreement (‘no win no fee’), however this will only be suitable in certain cases and will be subject to our initial assessment of the merits of your case.

Let us help you today with court of protection and human rights law

  • Please refer to our terms of service

What we can advise on

Our services in this area include but aren’t limited to:

  • Advising whether a mental capacity assessment has been completed properly and in compliance with the law. If we decide it hasn’t been, we can challenge it, calling on psychiatrists and other mental health experts to make their own assessment if necessary.
  • Challenging evidence regarding mental capacity and contesting best interest decisions by local and health authorities. Also reassessments following new developments (for example regaining or further loss of capacity).
  • Disagreements in areas such as where a person should live and how much care they need.
  • Cases involving sensitive subjects such as religious practices or sexual matters.
  • Advising individuals who lack capacity to decide whether or not they should be accommodated in in a particular hospital or care home and/or be provided with particular treatment, and are considered by law to be deprived of their liberty.
  • Applications for (and revocation of) Lasting Powers of Attorney and applications for Deputyship Orders (property and affairs and health and welfare).
  • Cases that overlap with other areas of mental health law. For more details of how we can help in this area please see our Mental Health Solicitors page.

An example of a typical case

Court of Protection cases can vary greatly. Here’s just one example of how we were able to act successfully on behalf of a client.

An elderly lady found herself forcibly removed from the house she had called her home for over 40 years.

The local authority argued that the lady lacked the mental and physical capacity to properly make her own decisions. The lady now faced spending the rest of her life confined to a nursing home.

Her concerned family raised their objections, arguing the lady was more than capable of continuing living in her home. But the authority still went ahead and had her removed and separated from her loved ones.

The family contacted Bison Solicitors and we provided our specialist expertise. We were thrilled when finally, after an extremely complicated legal process with the Court of Protection, the lady returned to her home and her family.

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