Author: Caroline

MHLA Education and Training Courses 2015

The MHLA is running the following courses during 2015. To register, and for further information, see All scheduled courses.

Foundation course – 1 day
This course is aimed at new practitioners and those intending to attend the panel course in the near future. The foundation course takes an interactive approach. It covers the basics of mental health law, Legal Aid, and running a mental health file.

Panel (accreditation scheme) course – 2 days
The MHLA is an accredited provider of the two-day course which must be attended by prospective members of the Law Society’s Mental Health accreditation scheme (formerly called the Panel). New practitioners are strongly encouraged also to attend the one-day foundation course (although this is not compulsory) in order to benefit fully from this course.

Refresher/re-accreditation course – 1 day
This new course will be suitable for those seeking to fulfil the re-accreditation requirement to obtain six mental health CPD points during each year of membership. The morning session will broaden delegates’ knowledge of selected areas of law. The afternoon session will include a comprehensive update on law, practice, and the current re-accreditation procedure.

Introduction to the Court of Protection – 2 days
An intensive introduction to practice in the Court of Protection. This course is primarily aimed at practitioners with little or no experience in conducting matters before the Court and those seeking a practical foundation to undertaking proceedings in the Court The course will cover health and welfare matters, deprivation of liberty, funding and, to a lesser extent, issues relating to property and affairs.

Legal Aid in mental health cases and peer review compliance – 1 day
This course provides guidance on the Legal Aid provisions in mental health cases, including escape-fee cases and requirements for means testing. It will also broaden practitioners’ knowledge of the peer review process and the peer review ‘Improving your Quality’ guidance. Training is provided by a current LAA independent costs assessor and a peer reviewer.

Case law for tribunal preparation and Advocacy – 1 day
The morning session will cover the essential case law required for case preparation. The afternoon session will provide practical guidance on effective tribunal advocacy skills. It is an interactive course, suitable for new and experienced representatives.

Cross-examination of medical witnesses – 1 day
A course covering: understanding mental disorder, nature and degree; psychiatric medications; consent to treatment provisions; understanding and addressing the ‘risks’ and challenging this evidence; instructing independent psychiatrists appropriately and using their evidence at tribunal. This course will be delivered by two consultant forensic psychiatrists and an experienced mental health solicitor, and will have an interactive element. It is suitable for both new and experienced representatives.

Pricing and CPD
Half-day: MHLA members £75, non-members £150. 3 hours CPD.
Full day: MHLA members £150, non-members £195. 6 hours CPD.
Two days: MHLA members £300, non-members £390. 12 hours CPD.
(Group bookings: 10% discount for groups of three or more members.)

We are an accredited provider of the Law Society’s panel course. Our courses are suitable for solicitors under both the ‘hours’ and ‘competence’ CPD regimes.

Court of Protection: Launch of the Re X procedure

Below is a letter from the Court of Protection about the launch of a new streamlined process for managing court-authorised deprivations of liberty.

Dear Court of Protection User

On 17 November 2014, the Court of Protection will launch a new streamlined process for managing court-authorised deprivations of liberty. The new process implements guidelines set out by the President of the Court of Protection in two recent judgments: Re X and others (Deprivation of Liberty) [2014] EWCOP 25, and, Re X and others (Deprivation of Liberty) (Number 2) EWCOP 37.

The new Re X procedure is set out in a practice direction issued by the President, and is accompanied by new application forms, designed exclusively for applying for court-authorised deprivations of liberty. You can download a saveable pdf of the form here: COPDL10 form. You will find the practice direction and a suggested draft Re X order on the Judiciary website or you can access it from the Court of Protection pages on Direct Gov: www.gov.uk/court-of-protection by clicking on the ‘deprivation of liberty’ link. Copies of the Practice Direction can also be found here and the Re X order here.

The Re X procedure is designed to enable the court to decide applications for a court-authorised deprivation of liberty on the papers only, without holding a hearing, provided certain safeguards are met: Those safeguards include ensuring that:

The person who is the subject of the application and all relevant people in their life are consulted about the application and have an opportunity to express their wishes and views to the court.
The person who is the subject of the application has not expressed a wish to take part in the court proceedings.
The person who is the subject of the application and all relevant people in their life do not object to the application.
There are no other significant factors that ought to be brought to the attention of the court that would make the application unsuitable for the streamlined procedure.

The process has been designed after informal consultation with the judiciary and court users, and we are grateful for all the valuable contributions received. We intend to review the process once it has been up and running for a while, and would be grateful for any feedback on how it works in practice. You can email your comments to the DoL Team. COPDOLS/S16@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk.

The Court of Protection has set up a dedicated team to deal with applications made under the Re X procedure. The contact details are:

Court of Protection
P.O. Box 70185
London
WC1A 9JA

DX 160013 Kingsway 7

· 0207 421 8665

· COPDOLS/S16@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk

Please note that the telephone and email contact details above are for enquiries relating to the Re X procedure only. If you need to contact the Court of Protection for any other reason, use the general enquiry number and email:

· 0300 456 4600

· courtofprotectionenquiries@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

James Batey
Court of Protection, PO Box 70185, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London, WC1A 9JA
DX 160013 Kingsway
Tel: 020 7421 8763
Email: james.batey@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk

A Practitioner’s Guide to Mental Health Law by Michael Butler

A Practitioner’s Guide to Mental Health Law by Michael Butler

A MHLA member special discount offer

MHLA members can order this comprehensive and accessible guide at the discounted price of £45.00 (usual price £55.00). A Practitioner’s Guide to Mental Health Law covers matters of everyday concern to lawyers and other mental health professionals in a clear and easy-to-read format. Topics include:

• An overview of the statutory and regulatory framework for mental health law

• The impact of the ECHR on mental health law

• The meaning of mental disorder

• Law and procedure governing civil admissions to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983

• Police powers in respect of the mentally disordered

• Treatment of patients under Part IV of the Mental Health Act 1983

• Rules governing the admission to hospital and treatment of children and young persons

• The rights of detained patients

• Discharge powers available to responsible clinicians, nearest relatives and hospital managers

• The constitution, role and powers of Mental Health Tribunals

• Aftercare, guardianship and community treatment orders

• Medical treatment and other decision-making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005

• The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

• Mental disorder and criminal law

The Guide also provides a glossary of key terms and participants in the legal process, a summary of the main differences between English and Welsh law and procedure, definitions and explanations of the main psychiatric disorders, and checklists covering the key procedural points in hospital admissions.

For a full list of contents and more information see here: http://www.wildy.com/isbn/9780854901142/a-practitioner-s-guide-to-mental-health-law-hardback-wildy-simmonds-and-hill-publishing

To order this title and receive your MHLA discount

Please email ann.vowles@wildy.com quoting “MHLA1” and including your delivery address. Postage and packing is free in the UK, and we will invoice you when we send the book.

Published October 2014, Hardcover

MHLA Course, Mental Health Tribunals – 24th November, London

MHLA COURSE

Mental Health Tribunals – cross-examining medical witnesses at tribunal – key skills for the legal representative

A one-day course on key skills and techniques for cross-examination of the RC at tribunal

Date: 24th November 2014

Time: 9.30am-5.00pm

Venue: City Temple, London

Presenters: Dr Duncan Anderson, Tam Gill, Dr Richard Noon

This course is run by 2 consultant forensic psychiatrists, one of whom is also a medical member, and an experienced mental health solicitor and will offer guidance and pointers on the following areas:

Understanding mental disorder, nature and degree

Commonly used psychiatric medications and consent to treatment provisions

Understanding and addressing the “risks” and eliciting, collating and challenging this evidence at tribunal

Instructing independent psychiatrists appropriately and using their evidence at tribunal.

There will be a practical skills-based element to this course, as well as the opportunity to discuss and ask questions of the facilitators and peers.

Refreshments, but not lunch, will be provided on the day.

Cost: Members £120.00

Non-members £175.00

CPD: 6 SRA-accredited hours

Booking

You can use the booking form, or pay online using the Paypal form below. Please click here for the booking form.

Pay online via Paypal/card

Numbers:
Names of all delegates:
Firm name and email address:

Cancellation

All cancellations must be made in writing. If your booking is cancelled up to two weeks before the course, the full fee, less £25 administration charge, will be refunded. We regret that no refund is possible if notice of the cancellation is received less than two weeks before the date of the course. Places may also be transferred, at no extra cost, to another delegate if the original delegate is unable to attend.

Queries

If you have any queries then please contact our administrator Peter Lyle on admin@mhla.co.uk

Mental Health Law Foundation Course – 31 October 2014, London

This course is aimed at new MH practitioners and those about to go on the Panel course on 12-13 November 2014 or intending to do the Panel course in the near future.

The course

Our presenters include Tribunal judges, Law Society assessors, LAA peer reviewers and costs assessors, and other experienced solicitors with a wealth of practical experience of representing patients at Mental Health Tribunals.

Cost

  • MHLA members: £120
  • Non-members: £175

Time

9.30am-5.00pm

CPD

6 SRA-accredited hours

Refreshments, but not lunch, will be provided.

Outline Programme –
MHLA Foundation Course Representing Detained Patients

Speakers (subject to change) : Sarah Burke, Neil Cronin, Tam Gill, Jonathan Wilson

1. Introduction to mental health legislation – the historical perspective

2. What does it mean to be “sectioned” – basic sections: definitions, statute and procedure relating to s.1, s.2, s.3, s.37/41, s.17, s.17A, s.72. s.73; Consent to Treatment provisions; Nearest Relatives

3. Legal Aid – how to complete CW1/2 forms; CLR

4. Running a mental health file – including the day to day life of a mental health lawyer, best practice in conducting a case file from start to finish including taking instructions, giving advice, case preparation and representation

5. What is a MHT – why could the patient need representation? – including ethical considerations, capacity, MHT procedure

6. What is a HMH – why could the patient need representation? – including renewal, applications, “powers”, merits of a HMH

7. What is a CPA – why could the patient need representation? – including LAA considerations etc, purpose of CPA, role of the legal representative

8. Q&A / Plenary session

Booking

To book a place, please send an email to our administrator Peter Lyle on admin@mhla.co.uk

Alternatively, you can use the Paypal form below:

Numbers:
Names of all delegates:
Firm name and email address:

Cancellation

All cancellations must be made in writing. If your booking is cancelled up to two weeks before the course, the full fee, less £25 administration charge, will be refunded. We regret that no refund is possible if notice of the cancellation is received less than two weeks before the date of the course. Places may also be transferred, at no extra cost, to another delegate if the original delegate is unable to attend.

Queries

If you have any queries then please contact our administrator Peter Lyle on admin@mhla.co.uk

MHLA, NW Regional Meeting – 19th November, Manchester

All members are invited to the next meeting of the North West Area MHLA

Date: Wednesday, 19th November

Time: 4.30-6.00pm

Venue: Kenworthy’s Chambers, Arlington House, Bloom Street, Salford, Manchester M3 6AJ

Tel: 0161 832 4036. Please click here for location details.

CPD Points: 1.5

CPD Ref: 2647/MHTA

Speaker Neil Allen, Barrister, Thirty Nine Essex Street Chambers

Topic: The impact of Cheshire West on the MHA and the interaction between the MCA/DOL and the MHA in terms of admission, detention and discharge

Neil has invited members to raise any specific issues or questions that they may have in advance of the meeting so that he may prepare answers in readiness. If members would like to do this, please email Kathryn Gibson your questions/issues and she will compile a list to send across to him.

There will be light refreshments.

Please can you RSVP as soon as possible to Kathryn Gibson at kathryn@jbs-law.co.uk, so that we have an indication of numbers we are catering for.

The meeting is free and open to all MHLA members.

MHLA Course, Legal Aid in Mental Health Cases & Peer Review Compliance – 3rd & 17th October

MHLA COURSE

Legal Aid in Mental Health cases & Peer Review compliance – a one-day masterclass

Dates: 3rd October & 17th October 2014

Time: 9.30am-5.00pm

Venues: Lincoln House Chambers, Manchester (3rd October) & City Temple, London (17th October)

Presenters: Manchester – Tam Gill, Sarah Burke & Neil Cronin

London – Tam Gill, Neil Cronin & Nick Lewis

This course is designed to assist in de-mystifying the provisions for means-tested and non-means tested legal aid in mental health cases, along with guidance and advice form experienced practitioners on Escape Case Fee matters. The course is run by LAA Costs reviewers and assessors, who are all experienced mental health solicitors with supervisor status. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the experts and to discuss optimum practice and procedure as a group. This is similar to purchasing Adderall online in order to boost awareness by taking Adderall.

Peer Review compliance is a contractual requirement. The MHLA is pleased to offer an afternoon session with experienced Peer Reviewers and mental health practitioners including a question and answer session.

Refreshments, but not lunch, will be provided on the day.

Cost: Members £90.00

Non-members £115.00

CPD: 6 SRA-accredited hours

Please note that the London course is now fully booked.