Brittany Gales

I am a Caseworker in the Court of Protection (‘COP’) department, based in our Manchester office, working under the supervision of Angela Sandhal. Having commenced my legal career at a specialist mental health and mental capacity firm in Leicester in 2023, initially as a paralegal and then as a senior paralegal, I relocated to Manchester and joined Duncan Lewis Solicitors in 2025, as an experienced COP Caseworker.

Through my legal career, I have gained valuable experience in assessing the merits of issuing both section 16 and 21A COP proceedings, often challenging the lawfulness of a person’s deprivation of liberty, in residential care and other similar settings, as well as in the community. I have assisted in representing a wide array of clients, namely, Protected Parties (‘P’), often through their Paid Persons Representative, Accredited Legal Representative or the Official Solicitor, and family members of P. My experience involves handling publicly funded (legal aid) cases, and in assisting clients with obtaining legal aid (if eligible) to fund their case.

• Master of Laws in Legal Practice (LPC / LLM) – ‘Is the current law sufficient to safeguard incapacitated or otherwise vulnerable people against the unlawful administration of covert medication? Covert Medication Administration: The Legal and Ethical Complexities’ – The University of Derby (Outstanding).
• Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (PGDip / LPC) – The University of Derby (2024).
• First Class (1:1) Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree – The University of Derby (2022).

• Caseworker (Court of Protection) at Duncan Lewis Solicitors (April 2025 to date).
• Senior Paralegal (Court of Protection) at Thaliwal and Veja Solicitors (September 2024 to March 2025).
• Paralegal (Court of Protection) at Thaliwal and Veja Solicitors (March 2023 to August 2024).
• Customer Service Assistant at Lloyds Banking Group (May 2022 to March 2023).