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Legal 500 Firm Duncan Lewis now boasts 6 additional Mental Health Panel Members in its Mental Health Department (1 August 2012)

 

Well done to Aklema Begum, Angela Smith, Charanjit Dhami, Sarah Stimson, Lucinda Broad and Umar Kankiya for recently successfully achieving their Mental Health Panel Memberships; an illustration of the expertise and client diligence they each bring to this area of law.

 

 

Broadmoor patient “determined to get heard” in landmark case (25 September 2011)

 

The Upper Tribunal took a landmark decision by ordering that the First-tier Mental Health Tribunal hold a public hearing of AH's application for discharge from hospital, establishing the important principle that open justice should extend to the usually private setting of mental health tribunals.

 

 

An important precedent in a secretive world (23 September 2011)

 

The right to an open hearing is not likely to be taken up often. It is an option that should be available to all. All patients should have the opportunity to prove, if they wish, that they are capable of making a judgment about their own interests.

 

 

Broadmoor patient “determined to get heard” in landmark case (23 September 2011)

 

A man detained at Broadmoor high-security hospital has spoken of his “determination to get heard” ahead of becoming the first psychiatric patient to have an appeal against detention open to the public.

 

 

Broadmoor patient fighting for right to tell his story (23 September 2011)

 

The power to release Mr Haines rests with a mental health tribunal, the secretive system that has the unenviable task of
deciding whether someone should continue to be sectioned.

 

 

Ex-Partner and Solicitor’s return to Duncan Lewis (5 September 2011)

 

With over 400 employees, Duncan Lewis expects some level of staff turnover. It is reassuring to know that Duncan Lewis are doing something right as we are proud to welcome back former Duncan Lewis employees back to the firm.

 

 

Mental Health Solicitor at Duncan Lewis shortlisted for LALY Mental Health Award (25 May 2011)

 

Kate Luscombe of Duncan Lewis has been shortlisted for the 2011 LALY Mental Health Lawyer of the Year award.

 

 

Kate Luscombe: Ruling will shine a light on mental health system (9 March 2011)

 

This article was published in The Independent by Kate Luscombe, Head of Mental Health

The Upper Tribunal took a landmark decision by ordering that the First-tier Mental Health Tribunal hold a public hearing of AH's application for discharge from hospital, establishing the important principle that open justice should extend to the usually private setting of mental health tribunals.

 

 

Broadmoor patient makes history with court appeal in the case of AH v WLMHT (9 March 2011)

 

A patient in Broadmoor Hospital who has spent more than two decades alongside some of Britain's most dangerous criminals has won the right to have a review into his detention heard in public. This is the first result of this kind and will have major implications for the way Mental Health Tribunals will function in the future.

 

 

‘Missing the Bus’ in Open Court (21 February 2011)

 

Today on the 15 February 2011 the Court of Protection sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice met to consider a case of a 21 yr old woman (P), suffering from learning disabilities who is due to deliver her second child tomorrow by elective Caesarean.

 

 

Military Mental Health (21 February 2011)

 

From October 2009 to September last year, 3,970 Armed Forces staff were diagnosed with a mental disorder. Of those, 235 suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

 

 

Rhea Edes attains her Mental Health Panel Membership (15 February 2011)

 

Rhea Edes has just attained her Mental Health Panel Membership. Rhea undertook her training contract at Duncan Lewis and qualified as a solicitor in May 2008.

 

 

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Peer Review results (2 November 2010)

 

Duncan Lewis’ Mental Health department have achieved a peer review rating of 2. This result is exemplary of Duncan Lewis Mental Health department as many of our solicitors are accredited as Mental Health panel members.

 

 

Duncan Lewis Mental Health Department expands (16 October 2010)

 

Duncan Lewis has recently recruited 14 Mental Health consultant freelance solicitors to make their Mental Health freelance team reach 18.

 

 

Shazia Ali has become a Mental Health Panel Member (11 October 2010)

 

Shazia is now a freelance Mental Health consultant solicitor at Duncan Lewis and has become a Mental Health Panel Member.

 

 

DUNCAN LEWIS SOLICITOR NOMINATED FOR PRESTIGIOUS MENTAL HEALTH AWARD (4 May 2010)

 

Andrea Spyrou of Duncan Lewis has been shortlisted for the 2010 Mental Health Lawyer of the Year award.

 

 

Protecting Vulnerable People in Immigration Detention (4 May 2010)

 

Nearly 30,000 people are held in immigration detention in the UK every year. It has long been the Secretary of State (SSHD)’s own policy that those suffering from serious medical conditions or the mentally ill are normally considered suitable for immigration detention in “only very exceptional circumstances” . This rule also applies to torture victims (where there is independent evidence of the torture) and other vulnerable persons such as victims of trafficking, the disabled, pregnant women and children. They are deemed unsuitable for immigration detention because their detention requires particular “security, care and control” .

In reality many such vulnerable persons are unfortunately regularly detained in breach of this policy. In criminal cases, the risk of further offending or harm to the public may make detention justifiable despite the fact that such an individual may be unsuitable for detention from a health point of view. Less justifiable is the detention of asylum seekers (who are often suffering from mental illnesses) for their asylum claim to be heard under the accelerated “Fast Track” process.

 

 

Appropriate Treatment Test: How effective has this been in practice? (3 May 2010)

 

The Mental Health Act 1983 included a provision in section 3(2) (b) that ‘treatment must be likely to alleviate or prevent a deterioration of his condition’. This provision was repealed when the Mental Health Act was amended in 2007 and was replaced with the appropriate medical treatment test contained in section 3(2)(d) which states that in order to detain someone for the purpose of treatment ‘appropriate medical treatment is to be available for him’.

 

 

Mental Health Law Is Highly Specialized (11 March 2008)

 

Lawyers and doctors are constantly at loggerheads when a case raises complex legal and medical issues. In its very nature, every case is highly sensitive and the patient-client relationship depends on commitment, trust and knowledge between the triumvirate parties involved.

 

 

Dementia is Health Care Issue (3 January 2008)

 

A 94-year-old Plymouth woman has won a landmark decision that could mean hundreds of elderly people will no longer be required to fund their nursing home fees out of their own pockets.