Profile

Francesca is a specialist in all areas of mental capacity and mental health law. Francesca’s practice encompasses all areas of Court or Protection work, including welfare disputes, serious medical treatment and property and affairs matters. Francesca receives regular instructions from individuals, the Official Solicitor, local authorities, NHS bodies and care homes. Francesca regularly acts in complex welfare proceedings and has a particular interest and experience in cases involving: cross border placements and disputes (with particular interest in cross border placements from Scotland); children and deprivation of liberty; the international protection of adults (for example, Francesca has recently been instructed to advise on cases involving Japan, Kenya and the United States of America); cases involving both welfare and financial disputes; and safeguarding vulnerable adults within the Inherent Jurisdiction of the High Court.

Francesca's practice is unique in that Francesca specialises in Health & Welfare and Property & Affairs within the Court of Protection. Francesca'a property and affairs practice regularly involves advising on issues relating to: the scope of the role of a financial deputy, lasting powers of attorney; statutory wills and financial abuse.

Francesca also has extensive experience in Mental Health Law, including representing patients before the First- Tier Tribunal and Nearest Relative Displacement Proceedings. Francesca has extensive experience in cases concerning the interface between the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Francesca also has a particular interest in and regularly advises on matters of social care charging, with a particular focus on debt recovery.

Significant Cases

North Yorkshire County Council v Elliott [2019] EWFC 37

B-v-a Local Authority [2019] EWCA Civ 93

Re B (Capacity: Social Media: Care and Contact) [2019] EWCOP 3

SR v A Local Authority &Anor [2018] EWCOP 36

The Hospital Trust v V & Ors [2017] EWCOP 20

AG, Re [2016] EWCOP 37 (6 July 2016)

SAD & Anor v SED [2017] EWCOP 3

LCC v J K [2016] EWCOP 59

NCC v TP (Capacity of TP) [2016] EWCOP B3

NCC v TP [2016] EWCOP B4

NCC v TP (Best Interests) [2016] EWCOP 61

IH (Observance of Muslim Practice) [2017] EWCOP 9 (12 June 2017)

Year of Call: 2009

Areas of expertise

Memberships

Member of Grays Inn 2009

Member of the North Eastern Circuit

Court of Protection Practitioner’s Association - Chair (Yorkshire & the Humber)

Training

Francesca provides regular training and seminars to: lawyers, medical and social care professionals and other professionals in the field. Recent training topics have included:

• Cross Border disputes and Ordinary Residence (with particular focus on cross border placements to and from Scotland)
• The interface between the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005; 
• Deprivation of Liberty, covering all areas: including children & deprivation of liberty; 
• Religious observance and the incapacitated adult;
• consent to sexual relations and the obligations of the State;
• The international protection of adults 
• Deprivation of assets;

Property & Affairs:

• The role of the deputy and deprivation of liberty; 
• Statutory Wills; 
• Gifts;
• capacity to revoke a Lasting Power of Attorney.

Publications

1. ‘The Cold Front’- Private Client Advisor

2. ‘ Support Network: litigation friends- Private Client Advisor

Qualifications

Bar Vocational Course - BPP Law School- 2009

Recommendations

Chambers UK 2020:

"She is an excellent advocate; she's very easy to listen to and is very sensible and kind." "She is wonderful and you can depend on her to get the job done. She is very thorough, her drafting is superb and she thinks very much outside the box."

Legal 500 2018:

Shortlisted in the Legal 500 Awards for 'Regional Junior of the Year 2018.'

Legal 500 2018:

"Extremely bright and very talented."

Chambers UK 2018:

"She is tenacious, eloquent, caring and incredibly talented, which means that she is in increasingly high demand for the most complex of Court of Protection cases."

 "She has a tremendous amount of experience and is not afraid of novel or complex issues in a case. She works tirelessly to try to ensure the right result for her client."

"Francesca'a approach to matters is highly methodical and committed. She puts forward the clients' issues and concerns with great aplomb."

Legal 500 2017

Shortlisted in the Legal 500 Awards for 'Regional Junior of the Year 2017."

"An up- and - coming star in the area of Court of Protection, her practice includes a range of mental health and capacity cases involving deprivation of liberty, covert medication and human rights matters."

Chambers UK  2017

"She has a clear grasp of complicated issues and the ability to convey that to clients."

"She is very clear, concise and cuts through all of the nonsense."

"Ranked as 'Up and Coming' in Court of Protection.