Skip to content
Services for individuals

Court of Protection, Healthcare and Mental Health

Equally at home acting in high profile cases or leading cases as they are acting in the cases which will never make the headlines, but which make a very real differences to people’s lives, it is a team known for its work in cases concerning all aspects of an individual’s life: their welfare, health, medical treatment, and finances. 

The Court of Protection, Healthcare and Mental Health team is regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor, advocates, and those who love and care for incapacitated adults, and is known for the time, energy, and tenacious approach brought to all cases.

We have years of experience of championing rights in:

  • The Court of Protection
  • Tribunals
  • County and High Court
  • Funding panels
  • Challenges to Local Authorities & NHS

The team has significant experience of Court of Protection welfare cases, including those regarding urgent and serious medical treatment decisions. Its preparation and attention to detail are excellent.

Legal 500 2021
What others say

Bindmans is a heavy hitter in Court of Protection work. The lawyers are clearly trusted to take on difficult cases and represent their clients’ interests with determination and dedication.

Chambers and Partners 2022 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

The Bindmans team goes that extra mile and are fearless in their pursuit for justice and truth for their clients. During the pandemic it has been particularly difficult for all concerned with the justice system. Bindmans have been proactive in their use of technology in these troubling times and have adapted and developed accordingly.

Legal 500 2022 – Healthcare

Bindmans is a leader in the Court of Protection. The team is often instructed on some of the toughest cases and can be relied upon as a trustworthy source of comprehensive, knowledgeable instructions. The firm is extremely well-regarded and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Legal 500 2022 – Court of Protection

Bindmans has exceptional strength in depth. They are leaders in their field across the whole spectrum of social welfare law.

Legal 500 2022 – Court of Protection

Exceptional depth of knowledge and commitment to clients.

Legal 500 2022 – Court of Protection

Bindmans has a particular expertise in public law, so the cases I have done for them have had a Court of Protection link with public law, and also Mental Health Tribunals. It is a joy to work with solicitors who are au fait with CoP, mental health law and public law. This enables Bindmans to provide a holistic service to clients with especially complex needs.

Legal 500 2022 – Court of Protection

Unique because of the superior legal knowledge, practical approach, kindness to individuals in extreme distress, super responsiveness, incredible hard work at all hours of the working day and night and at weekends, and attention to detail. Team working is difficult and the level of trust and communication in this team puts it head and shoulders above its competitors.

Legal 500 2022 – Court of Protection

Bindmans’ team has significant experience in the Court of Protection and a particular focus on fighting their clients’ corner.

Legal 500 2022 – Court of Protection

They are very committed and really fight for their clients in difficult cases.

Chambers and Partners 2021 – Court of Protection

They’ve got a really good reputation in this area – they really act for the person.

Chambers and Partners 2021 – Court of Protection

Excellent in Court of Protection welfare work and hybrid applications and working with families in sensitive medical treatment cases.

The team has significant experience of Court of Protection welfare cases, including those regarding urgent and serious medical treatment decisions. Its preparation and attention to detail are excellent.

Legal 500 2021 – Court of Protection

An excellent team with strength at every level. The lawyers are extremely committed to their clients and always go the extra mile. Their expertise in related areas of public law and human rights is a great asset. Will Whitaker is always excellent. He gets on extremely well with clients and is very good in a crisis. He demonstrates judgement and maturity well beyond his years of PQE.

Legal 500 2021 – Court of Protection

Greatly committed team that takes on some of the most challenging and difficult CoP cases. Great range of experience. Laura Hobey-Hamsher is a standout individual – she is vastly experienced, she has the confidence and ear of High Court judges, and her attendance notes on clients are routinely quoted in High Court judgments.

Legal 500 2021 – Court of Protection

It is a high-profile firm that gets a lot of good cases. The lawyers are willing to take on difficult cases and fight hard. Laura Hobey-Hamsher is an excellent Court of Protection lawyer – she is dedicated and goes the extra mile for her clients.

Legal 500 2021 – Court of Protection

Highly respected team proficient in handling the full range of health and welfare cases, with a strong emphasis on matters involving human rights issues. Routinely sought out for representation in complex and sensitive matters, including serious medical treatment, mental health and mental capacity cases. Adept at handling cases with challenging cross-border aspects. Frequently acts for charities, NGOs and the Official Solicitor.

Chambers and Partners 2019 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Bindmans are excellent; they have the experience to handle the wider public law issues that arise in this area.

Chambers and Partners 2019 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Highly respected team proficient in handling the full range of health and welfare cases, with a strong emphasis on matters involving human rights issues. Routinely sought out for representation in complex and sensitive matters, including serious medical treatment, mental health and mental capacity cases. Adept at handling cases with challenging cross-border aspects.

Chambers and Partners 2018 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

I feel like we’re in safe hands when they are on the case. We get pragmatic advice from people who know what they are doing.

Chambers and Partners 2018 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Bindmans need no introduction in this area – they are clearly excellent.

Chambers and Partners 2018 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Bindmans LLP is ‘a leading firm in COP for welfare and medical treatment cases in particular’.

Legal 500 2018 – Court of Protection

Bindmans LLP is ‘extremely strong in Court of Protection, inquests, and human rights claims in the healthcare arena’. The practice has a strong focus on contentious cases; representing a range of clients in Court of Protection cases, mental health cases, disciplinary investigations in relation to healthcare professionals and actively challenging the current healthcare framework.

Legal 500 2018 – Healthcare

Highly respected team proficient in handling the full range of health and welfare cases, with a strong emphasis on matters involving human rights issues. Routinely sought out for representation in complex and sensitive matters, including serious medical treatment, mental health and mental capacity cases.

Chambers and Partners 2017 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

They’re excellent; they have real strength in depth.

Chambers and Partners 2017 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

They are fantastic – they were always really prompt and really thorough. It was exactly the kind of work you would hope for.

Chambers and Partners 2017 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Paul Ridge heads the team at Bindmans LLP, which has ‘great strength in depth, and combines great commitment to clients with a first-class analysis of its cases’. Associate Charlotte Haworth Hird, who has particular expertise in cases involving non-UK nationals, is ‘extremely experienced and able. She is also very knowledgeable and efficient, with a caring and principled approach that serves her clients well’. Solicitor Laura Hobey-Hamsher is ‘excellent, with very good judgment and attention to detail. Her ability to work through huge amounts of disclosure to identify the key documents (which could change the direction of a case) is second to none’. Solicitor Will Whitaker is ‘a future star – he has demonstrated judgement well beyond his years in dealing with difficult clients’. Ridge primarily deals with welfare, medical treatment and deprivation of liberty cases, and is instructed by both family members and on behalf of those who lack capacity. The group also acts in cases involving breaches of an incapacitated adult’s ECHR rights, and the circumstances in which artificial nutrition and hydration should be withdrawn from a patient in a minimally conscious or persistent vegetative state. The team ‘does a fantastic job for its clients’ and is ‘recommended for the most difficult cases’.

Legal 500 2017 – Court of Protection

The ‘outstanding’ group at Bindmans LLP is ‘welcoming, supportive and always available any time of day or night’ and has ‘a high level of knowledge and professionalism matching their sincerity and integrity in fighting for justice’. The group’s wide contentious offering includes representing families at inquests, handling a range of human rights claims, Court of Protection work and disputes relating to social services. The ‘dedicated and passionate’ Saimo Chahal QC (Hon) is acting for Luisa Ferreira in Court of Appeal proceedings pertaining to the death of the petitioner’s sister, who lacked mental capacity, at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Chahal also represented the directors of Justice for Health in challenging the Secretary of State for Health’s decision to impose a contract on junior doctors. John Halford is advising the Association of Child Psychotherapists on constitutional matters, disciplinary investigations and data protection matters, and recently acted for the client in a case concerning the impact of domestic violence on fitness to practise. ‘Extraordinarily effective’ associate Charlotte Haworth Hird, who is ‘a phenomenal solicitor who fights hard for her clients’, represented the family of Connor Sparrowhawk in a claim under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act pertaining to his drowning in a bath on a specialist NHS unit. Jamie Potter is another name to note.

Legal 500 2017 – Healthcare

They have a huge amount of experience and involve themselves in almost all the significant cases. They are very clever, very well up on the law but also incredibly compassionate. Ideally suited to working with clients who have incredibly difficult lives.

Chambers and Partners 2016 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

They really do attract the best and the brightest from a civil rights point of view. You know you’re going to get the best civil rights approach in these cases, which can be important.

Chambers and Partners 2016 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Highly skilled and particularly knowledgeable on challenging accepted standards of practice in medical care matters

Chambers and Partners 2016 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Paul is calm, responsible and a very sound lawyer who makes his points clearly.

Chamber and Partners 2016 – Court of Protection: Health and Welfare

Bindmans LLP is a market leader in human rights related cases. Saimo Chahal QC (Hon) is representing the British Humanist Association (BHA), as well as individual clients, in bringing a fresh challenge to the legality of the Suicide Act 1961. Other highlights include acting for an out-of-hours GP provider in parallel judicial review and procurement proceedings, and acting for a charity in challenging NHS funding of homeopathy. John Halford and Jamie Potter are ‘efficient and professional’. Associate Charlotte Haworth Hird is ‘one the very best public lawyers’ who ‘combines impeccable judgement with a comprehensive knowledge of the law’.

Legal 500 2016 – Healthcare

Paul Ridge leads Bindmans LLP’s ‘fantastic team’, which is recommended for its ‘very quick responses, superb legal knowledge and spot-on advice’. Charlotte Haworth Hird is experienced in ECHR claims and ‘quickly gets to grips with each case’. Solicitor Laura Hobey-Hamsher ‘is always prepared to go that extra mile’. The firm regularly receives instructions from the Official Solicitor.

Legal 500 2016 – Court of Protection

The very knowledgeable Paul Ridge heads the team.

Legal 500 2016 – Healthcare

Very knowledgeable, responsive, clear lawyer who is nice to work with and very practical and pragmatic.

Chambers and Partners 2015 – Court of Protection: Health & Welfare

Bindmans LLP ‘consistently deals with cases in an efficient and cost-effective manner’. It regularly advises on welfare, medical and deprivation of liberty issues. Clients include the Official Solicitor. The ‘very knowledgeable’ Paul Ridge heads the team, and Sara Lomri is recognised for her experience in serious mental capacity legal issues. Charlotte Haworth Hird is well regarded for her work on ECHR claims. Solicitor Laura Hobey-Hamsher is an expert in mental capacity cases, including matters allegedly involving physical and/or sexual abuse.

Legal 500 2015 – Court of Protection

Paul ‘really makes a difference’. Paul Ridge is recommended in Court of Protection.

Legal 500 2014 – Court of Protection

Meet the team

Laura Hobey-Hamsher
Partner

Public Law and Human Rights

Karen May
Partner

Head of Education Law

Paul Ridge
Partner

Public Law and Human Rights

Emma Varley
Associate

Public Law and Human Rights

Will Whitaker
Associate

Public Law and Human Rights

Georgina Byrne
Solicitor

Public law and Human Rights

Verity Cannell
Solicitor

Public Law and Human Rights

Brighde Gallivan
Solicitor

Public Law and Human Rights

Caroline Robinson
Solicitor

Public Law and Human Rights

Basmah Sahib
Solicitor

Public Law and Human Rights

Paradise Bidkalameh
Trainee solicitor

Public Law and Human Rights

How can we help you?

We are here to help. If you have any questions for us, please get in touch below.