Jessica joined Abbotstone Law in February 2018 after many years in publishing and PR including running her own consultancy  and has developed a compassion for the needs of the clients with whom she is often first point of contact. She oversees the running the office on a day-to-day basis and acts as the link for many of the firm’s principal processes.

Ellie took on her role as Finance Clerk at the beginning of 2021. She has previous experience working as an Accounts Assistant, obtaining an AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting.

Tolu qualified as a mental health solicitor in 2012. Prior to qualifying Tolu worked as a mental health nurse practitioner for six years within an NHS Trust in a rehabilitation setting for people with enduring mental health problems. He also acquired significant experience working with the Crisis and Home Treatment teams responding to people experiencing acute mental health issues in the community where possible facilitating less restrictive home treatment as an alternative to compulsory admission.

Tolu represents patients seeking to appeal their detention orders to the First-tier Tribunal and the Hospital Managers. Tolu is skilled in understanding his client’s needs and endeavours to demonstrate understanding and empathy to achieve good practical outcomes for those experiencing crisis including offering advice relating to local authority’s duty of care and discharge care planning.

Tolu is fluent in the Yoruba language.

Magdalena obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from London South Bank University, followed by a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance Law from the University of Westminster. She completed a Legal Practice Course in July 2017 with an overall commendation.

During her studies she volunteered in Cambridge House and South Westminster Legal Advice Centre, helping vulnerable children and adults.

Magdalena is a Paralegal and a member of the Law Society’s Mental Health Accreditation Scheme representing persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in appeals before the First-tier Tribunal and Hospital Managers.

Magdalena is a fluent Polish language speaker.

Sam is a solicitor and member of the Law Society’s Mental Health Accreditation Scheme. Prior to working in the field of mental health law, he had specialist experience of representing prisoners before the Parole Board.

Sam prides himself on representing clients with dedication and empathy. He has previous experience working for a charity as a youth mentor and volunteering at a homeless kitchen.

Sam read Modern History as an undergraduate at Oxford University, before undertaking postgraduate legal training.

Soni has specialised in Mental Health law since 1994 and been a member of the Law Society’s Mental Health Accreditation scheme since 1996.

Soni is a founding member of the committee to the Mental Health Lawyers Association and a former peer reviewer for the Legal Services Commission. Soni is passionate about quality standards in publicly funded work contributing to the second edition of the Mental Health Lawyers good guide for managing case files.

She joined Abbotstone Law in 2014 as a Consultant solicitor, prior to this Soni held senior managerial roles in other large mental health providers acting in a supervisory role.

Soni specialises in representing patients detained or being treated in the community under Part II (civil sections) and Part III (forensic sections) of the Mental Health Act including those transferred from prison to hospital. She has experience of representing complex forensic patients detained in high secure hospitals and has successfully argued a case for discharge direct from Broadmoor Hospital. Her experience as an accredited police station lawyer and knowledge of criminal practice and procedure supports her specialist knowledge of forensic mental health law.

She has advised and assisted patients in numerous Hospital Managers hearings and advised and represented nearest relatives. Soni also provides pro bono advice to healthcare providers on a regular basis.

Soni speaks Punjabi.

Francesca specialises in the areas of Mental Capacity, Community Care and matters dealt with under the inherent jurisdiction. Francesca is a member of the Law Society’s Mental Capacity (welfare) accreditation scheme and is an Accredited Legal Representative. She is regularly instructed directly by individuals and on behalf of ‘Protected Persons’ through paid representatives and the Official Solicitor in complex disputes in the Court of Protection and the High Court.

Francesca has experience representing clients with very complex disabilities including acquired brain injuries, mental health issues and severe autism, as well as clients with communication difficulties.

Francesca specialises in all welfare matters for vulnerable individuals such as issues relating to a person’s deprivation of liberty and decisions regarding their care and residence. Francesca also has significant knowledge and experience in best interests disputes including those with extremely complex dynamics such as safeguarding matters, contact, access to the internet and social media, consent to sexual relations and access to medical treatment and medication. Francesca’s matters have had notably complex capacity issues where P has a very rare diagnosis or has been assessed as having fluctuating or borderline or capacity, or where P has capacity to make some decisions but not others,

Francesca also regularly represents family members recently acting in a case where she represented P’s husband in a linked matter being heard across the Family Courts, Court of Protection and Inherent Jurisdiction to determine P’s capacity to marry and engage in sexual relations, raising complex issues of cultural differences and relevant information. Francesca has also advised clients and was part of a media review into family members’ access to loved ones in care homes which resulted in the CQC providing updating guidance on the issue.

– Legal 500 2022 Testimonial

Notable Cases:

LBB and NB, SA, AD, MB (by his litigation friend the Official Solicitor), SB

Francesca acted for P’s father, in a complex s.16 matter relating to the care of P at home. Senior Judge Hilder presided over the case in considering whether it was in the best interests of P, a 22 year old with dyskinetic tetraplegic cerebral palsy, to undertake a 12-week period of intensive support and assessment at a rehabilitation centre. The case raised important arguments as to capacity and the judgment contains a detailed review of how the Court considers best interests of P fits within an intractable dispute between care givers and a family member.

Frances trained as a barrister and was called to the Bar in 1998, cross-qualifying as a solicitor in 2007.  She has higher rights of audience in all proceedings in England and Wales.  Committed to representing those confined within the mental health system and disadvantaged by mental illness, she began exclusively to practice mental health law in 2004.

Frances has a particular interest in human rights issues such as deprivation of liberty and rights to private and family life, to a fair hearing, and to freedom from inhumane and degrading treatment.  Apart from Court of Protection and tribunal work, she has successfully issued habeas corpus proceedings in respect of those unlawfully detained, and advised and represented clients in judicial review applications.

For many years, Frances’ practice was divided between mental health and mental capacity work. Her Mental Health Act work mostly involved the representation of patients detained in hospital or liable to detention in the community, and to a lesser degree the representation of nearest relatives and patients in displacement proceedings initiated by local authorities in the County Court.  Her Mental Capacity Act work included representation in welfare and deprivation of liberty applications, the drafting of lasting powers of attorney, deputyship and statutory will applications.  Her extensive work in both Mental Health and Mental Capacity law has provided her with a particularly good grasp of the complex interface between the two statutory regimes.

Frances now concentrates on health and welfare cases in the Court of Protection, where she is regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor in deprivation of liberty challenges and best interests proceedings.  Her ability to engage constructively with litigants in person adds both to the efficient progression of cases and to the administration of justice.

Frances speaks French as a second language.

Notable Cases:

AM v (1) South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and (2) The Secretary of State for Health [2013] UKUT 0365 (AAC)

Landmark case on the interface between the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended) and the Mental Capacity Act 2005)

CV v South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust [2010] EWCH 742 Administration

AMHP’s duty to consult the nearest relative and meaning of “reasonably practicable” and “unreasonable delay”

R (ZN) v South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust (2010) CO/9457/2009 (MHLO)

The de facto detention of an informal incapacitous patient, and the series of detentions under s5(2) was unlawful (claim settled by consent).