The Team
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| Peter Edwards (Director / Solicitor) View Profile |
Jolanta Edwards (Director / Solicitor) View Profile |
Ged Roberts (Head of Tribunal Dept) View Profile |
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| Liz McLelland (Solicitor) View Profile |
Catherine Pease (Solicitor) View Profile |
Baljit Sidhu (Solicitor) View Profile |
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| Christine Hall (Solicitor) View Profile |
Victoria Louise Silvester (Solicitor) View Profile |
Stephen Beard (Trainee Solicitor) View Profile |
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| Jenny Oxton (Legal Executive) View Profile |
Annette Holmes (Civil Litigation Executive) View Profile |
Carolyn Hardaker (Practice Manager) View Profile |
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| Dave Sheppard (Non solicitor Consultant) View Profile |
Roger Hargreaves (Non Solicitor Consultant) View Profile |
PETER EDWARDS (Solicitor)
I am a Director of Peter Edwards Law and the Head of Civil Litigation and Private Client department. I have spent my professional life fighting for the rights of the vulnerable and those with mental health problems. In 2007 I was nominated as Mental Health Lawyer of the Year 2007. With Dave Sheppard, I run a training company called IMHL. I also provide training in universities, hospitals, local authorities indeed for anyone who feels the need to know more about all aspects of mental health and incapacity law. I am President of mental health charity; Imagine and I broadcast on radio and television. One of the high spots for me was being grilled by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight over the Bournewood case.
I have held the following appointments in the past: Consultant to Solicitors Regulation Authority, Legal Consultant World Health Organisation, Law Society Chief Assessor Mental Health Review Tribunal Panel, President Mental Health Lawyers Association, Member of Central Policy Committee of Mental Health Act Commission, Vice Chair Law Society Mental Health and Disability Committee, Member NACRO Advisory Committee and Member of MIND Council of Management When not at work I love travelling and get lost in the high mountains.
Email: peter@peteredwardslaw.com
JOLA EDWARDS (Solicitor and Director)
I was born and educated in Poland where I read English and German at the ancient Jagiellonian University of Krakow. I then spent many years working in the travel and airline industry which took me to many corners of the world. Having finally conquered the travelling bug, I now thoroughly enjoy being a solicitor with particular interest in clients with learning disabilities and incapacity work.
For a number of years now, I have been representing patients detained in a number of hospitals across the North West and this work has provided me with a lot of inspiration to assist vulnerable people in asserting their basic human rights.
In my spare time I still criss-cross Europe on foot and on skis with the snowy peaks of Chamonix and the cobbled streets of Krakow remaining my all time favourite haunts. This year I almost got to the top of Mont Blanc only to be beaten by a bout of altitude sickness suffered by one of my climbing companions. Next time perhaps!?
Email: jola@peteredwardslaw.com
GED ROBERTS. (Head of Mental Health Tribunal Department)
I have been representing clients before Mental Health Tribunals for about 23 years. I have headed up the Mental Health Department in Peter Edwards Law since 2001. Under my leadership the department has gone from strength to strength and has successfully completed a number of franchise/peer review audits. We are one of the few legal aid practices to obtain a Category 1 (Excellent) from our LSC Peer Review Audit.
In March 1992, I was involved in the making of the Cutting Edge TV documentary ‘Special Hospital’s’ into the alleged mistreatment of patients within Ashworth Hospital. This acted as a catalyst to the ordering of an Inquiry into the abuses of patients at Ashworth.
I represents patient’s right across the spectrum of mental health law in both local psychiatric units and forensic mental health units.
I have been a committee member of the Mental Health Lawyers Association and I am also involved in a number of Community Mental Health Projects.
I have previously been involved in Mental Health and Peer Advocacy Training with the Advocacy Project and is the Mental Health Legal Advisor to the Project.
Email: gedroberts@peteredwardslaw.com
LIZ MCLELLAND (Solicitor)
I am an experienced mental health solicitor and member of the Law Society’s Mental Health Review Tribunal panel. The majority of my work involves advising and representing clients who are detainned under the Mental Health Act.I also have primary responsibility for those clients of the firm detained in hospitals in Wales. This is particulary interesting because Wales has a different tribunal system and rules than England.
I particular enjoy assisting clients with learning disabilities or mental health difficulties who live in a range of settings, from high secure hospitals to their own homes in the community. I also regularly advise carers and relatives.
I am experienced at advising clients detained under both forensic and civil sections and often achieve a successful outcome. I also represent clients in relation to a range of other issues focussing on the rights of people with mental health difficulties or learning disabilities.
When I am not working, I am an enthusiastic cook which I try to balance with my limited enthusiasm for exercise!
Email: lizmclelland@peteredwardslaw.com
CATHERINE PEASE (Solicitor)
I obtained a 1st Class Honours degree in psychology before converting to law and qualifying as a solicitor in 2005, when I chose to specialise in mental health law.
The vast majority of my work involves advising detained patients as to their rights and providing representation at Mental Health Tribunals. I represent a range patients detained under both forensic and civil sections and with differing diagnoses, needs and abilities. I often advise older patients living in the community or detained in hospital, particularly those with a diagnosis of dementia who wish to retain their independence for as long as possible. In my spare time works with Age Concern on a voluntary basis.
I used to be based in our Hoylake office but I have now moved to the south of England and assists clients in and around London and Northampton area, in addition to advising and representing detained patients in Rampton high secure hospital in Nottinghamshire.
In my spare time I enjoy walking my dogs, cycling and learning to play the violin (badly!).
Email: catherinepease@peteredwardslaw.com
Baljit Sidhu (Solicitor)
I came into mental health law through my work as an Outreach Co-ordinator for Redbridge Citizens Advice Bureau. I was asked to establish an advise surgery within a psychiatric hospital and there I came into contact with both detained and informal patients. Later, I discovered that the room that I had been using for the advice surgeries was the old hospital operating theatre where lobotomies were carried out!
Through my work at Redbrige Citizens Advice Bureau, I went on to qualify as a mental health solicitor with a North London Legal Aid firm. In 2001, I was appointed to the Law Society Mental Health Review Tribunal Panel and have retained my membership ever since.
As a result of my experience of representing the interests of patients, I was appointed as the mental health lead for Mills & Reeve Solicitors. I remained with the firm for 7 years. I have now come full circle by being recently appointed by Peter Edwards Law to their mental health tribunal team and will hopefully, in 2010, be embarking upon my PhD in mental health law. I have a particular interest in the experiences of BME women within the mental health system.
When I do have some spare time, it is used up entirely by running around after my two children. An activity that assists both with weight loss and building up an appetite!
Email: coventry42@tiscali.co.uk
CHRISTINE HALL (Solicitor and Tribunal Judge)
I qualified in 1984 and was one of first solicitors to be appointed to the Law Society Mental Health Panel. Mt interest goes back to a time when I was helping at the Bradford Law Centre. For a time I was Chair and then legal advisor to Lancaster MIND.
I was appointed in 2001 as a MHRT President and I started sitting in 2002 after my training. I preside over the new Mental Health Tribunals as a judge deciding whether patients should continue to be detained under the Mental Health Act. As a tribunal, we get the reports in advance and what is really interesting are the cases that seem on paper to be straight forward but can be very unpredictable once the evidence is presented to us. One of the most interesting parts of my work is that I have been selected to sit in cases where the patient is a child or young person.
As a practicing solicitor, all my work has been within the area of human rights and representing the vulnerable, e.g. defence work in the Magistrates court where I was often known as the ‘patron saint of lost causes’. I also did a weekly duty at the local night shelter!
I love living by the sea and walking our black labrador by the shore. I also enjoy hill climbing, skiing and sailing small dinghies
Email: christinehall@peteredwardslaw.com
VICTORIA LOUISE SILVESTER (Solicitor)
I qualified as a Solicitor in December 2008. After 18 months as a Crown Court Clerk, I joined Cheshire West & Chester Borough Council where I was an Assistant Solicitor within their Adult & Education team were I advised social workers on Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and POVA issues. I also handled Court of Protection, Residence and other general Community Care matters.
Email: victoriasilvester@peteredwardslaw.com
STEPHEN BEARD (Trainee solicitor)
I graduated with a degree in Law from the University of Sheffield in 2006. I have worked at Peter Edwards Law since April 2008 in the Mental Health Tribunal Department. I have been representing clients at Tribunal and managers hearings since October 2008.
In February 2009 I was thrilled to become a trainee solicitor with the firm as the final step on the road to me becoming a fully fledged solicitor. In early 2010 I am moving to the civil litigation department.
Email: stephenbeard@peteredwardslaw.com
JENNY OXTON (A.Inst. L.Ex)
I have been working for Peter Edwards Law for 6 years. I started working here as a legal secretary and developed an interest in the area of law in which we specialise, in particular representing the more vulnerable clients. I therefore decided to go back to night school to study for my legal exams. I am now an Associate Member of the Institute of Legal Executives.
I have been working under the direction of Jola Edwards and I now have transferred to the Mental Health Tribunal department. I visit client’s within the hospital system advising them in relation to their detention, including dealing with Tribunal applications.
Out of work I enjoy horse riding, dancing, socializing and travelling.
Email: jennyoxton@peteredwardslaw.com
ANNETTE HOLMES (Civil Litigation Executive)
I started to work for Peter Edwards Law in October 2001 in the Civil Litigation Department and have worked for various different fee earners over a period of time before becoming the P.A. to Peter Edwards.
In 2009 I was promoted to being a fee earner working for Mr Edwards as his assistant. Because Peter at times works away from the office one of my main roles is to take instructions from clients and answer their queries and clarify instructions. I liaise with clients both on the telephone and within the office environment, attend Court and also visit clients in hospital.
Mr Edwards also teaches Mental Health and Incapacity Law both within our office and at different venues all over the country and within my role as his Assistant, I liaise with the different organisations in order to set up and coordinate these training events.
We undertake a great deal of Court of Protection work and this is something that takes up a lot of my time. Part of my work is the completion of the paperwork to the Court and generally monitoring the position and liaising with the Court and clients. I also have the job of making sure that the figures balance (which they always do!)
Outside of work, I enjoy Badminton and have been a member of a team for over 10 years and play on a regular weekly basis. I also enjoy socialising, travelling and spending time with my grandchildren.
Email: annetteholmes@peteredwardslaw.com
CAROLYN HARDAKER (Practice Manager)
I am the Practice Manager and at the centre of Peter Edwards Law at our administrative base in Hoylake on the Wirral. Since Peter Edwards Law was established in 1999 I have been part of the driving force behind the growth and success of the company.
My time is split between finance related tasks, such as monitoring expenditure and departmental performance, ensuring Law Society Rules are met, and overseeing personnel matters. Between email, document processing and the need for frequent remote access, technology has become an essential part of my, and the practices’ work. My job is to always look for ways to build on efficiency and increase productivity. I was awarded a Gold Award in Personnel Management around August 2008 by Peninsula.
Outside of work, I have a husband who is a fabulous cook who encourages me to sit back with a fine glass of Savignion Blanc.
Email: carolynhardaker@peteredwardslaw.com
DAVE SHEPPARD (Non solicitor Consultant)
I am very pleased to have become a consultant mental health and incapacity advisor to Peter Edwards Law. By way of background, I am an independent consultant who trains extensively on mental health law and practice. I left social work practice in 1989, having worked for 17 years in a variety of settings, including 12 years as a Mental Health Welfare Officer and Approved Social Worker, and as a manager. I then worked for the next 3 years in the Legal and Parliamentary Unit of MIND. I have been a panel member on four inquiries following homicide and have conducted independent case reviews for both trusts and social services departments. I am a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Mental Health Law and editorial consultant to Mental Health Law Reports.
Email: dave@davesheppard.co.uk
Roger Hargreaves (Non Solicitor Consultant)
M.A Cantab, M.Sc Oxon, CQSW
My first degree was in historical geography, and my main interest was, and still is, the study of ancient roads and tracks, but I spoilt my chances of an academic career by spending too much time running the university car club, and so after a short period in the aircraft industry I went into social work, soon specialising in mental health. In a career spanning 38 years I helped to found the first modern community mental health team, managed mental health and learning disability services at a senior level, ran a unit inspecting care homes, and spent six years working in the courts with mentally-disordered offenders.
I first acted in 1971 as a Mental Welfare Officer under the 1959 Mental Health Act, but my interest in mental health law really dates from his MSc dissertation in 1975, which was the first academic study of the social worker’s role in the Act and which subsequently informed MIND and BASW policy on its reform, and in particular the proposal to create the role of Approved Social Worker. Having drafted most of BASW’s evidence on the 1983 revision, I volunteered in 2000 to do the same again for the latest, protracted and acrimonious attempt to bring the legislation into the modern era, and I led BASW’s Parliamentary campaign on the 2006 Mental Health Bill, managing to get ten amendments debated (although only one onto the statute book !)
I first met Peter Edwards in 1976 (!) when acting as a voluntary visitor to Moss Side (now Ashworth) Special Hospital for the National Council for Civil Liberties. At that time very few high-secure patients had the benefit of legal advice, and Peter was one of a small number of specialist lawyers to whom he could refer cases on. I subsequently became (as did Peter) one of the first members of the Mental Health Act Commission, and I chaired its social work group and its visiting team to Rampton Special Hospital.
I have served on a number of other national bodies, and have chaired four voluntary learning disability organisations, an area in which he hasI have a personal as well as a professional interest. I have now retired from social work practice after ten years as a freelance, specialising in tribunal and civil court reports and complaints investigations and serving on eight independent NHS inquiries.
Although I now intend to spend more time with my dog scouring the Peak District hills for signs of ancient ways, I have retained my special interest in the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) on which I was also the BASW lead, and consultee on the drafting of the Regulations and Code. In this role I submitted over 70 pages of suggested changes, many of which were adopted. I continue to act as the lead on DoLS for the Mental Health Alliance, has done training for IMHL and Dave Sheppard Associates in both England and Wales, and presented a paper on the subject to a Law Society conference in April 2009, an expanded version of which is due to appear in the Journal of Mental Health Law. Richard Jones has described the DoLS provisions as “largely incomprehensible to both lay people and to many professionals” but I am confident that I comprehend them, insofar as anyone does outside government.