Reeds Solicitors Nominated for Public Law Award at the LALYs 2022

Reeds Solicitors LLP’s partner and head of court of protection (COP), Sarah Griffiths-Jones has been nominated for Public Law Lawyer of the Year at the prestigious Legal Aid Lawyers of the Year awards.

Sarah joined Reeds in 2019 where she set up the firm’s court of protection practice from Cardiff. Despite the challenges faced by the pandemic, the practice has become one of the leading legal services in this area with several cases over the last twelve months having the potential to change precedent going forward. Due to the overwhelming success of the practice group, the firm launched in April 2022 a new office in Bristol to help cater for the needs of its expanding client base in the Southwest.

Sarah and her team represent some of the most vulnerable members of society: those who have lost capacity be it due to illness or accident, to make decisions around topics which impact upon their everyday lives. These decisions can be around residence, their property & affairs, or sadly, sometimes decisions so great around the acceptance or withdrawal of medical treatment, that the outcome will determine whether they live or die. In such cases, it falls to the COP to make the specific decision and for her and her team to advance their clients’ human rights whilst doing so. Each case is very different and calls for an individual and tailored approach to progress.

 

Jan Matthews, senior partner at Reeds Solicitors commented on the nomination:

“Speaking on behalf of myself and the wider team at Reeds, we are thrilled that Sarah has been nominated for this award.  Sarah and her team work relentlessly to support their clients as best they can under the most difficult and stressful circumstances.

By the very nature of our work, the majority of her clients are deprived of their liberty in care homes or hospitals, two of the most feared settings to attend throughout the pandemic. And yet, she and her team set their own personal fears aside, donned full PPE, engaged in rigorous testing, and adopted every other safety precaution possible, to enable safe attendance in person, where remote attendance would not have done their clients, nor their cases, justice.

She has provided warmth, support, and reassurance in person to her clients when sadly, their family members could not. She, and her team, gave expert legal guidance, all with a professional, but a much-needed human touch. We could not be more proud.”

 

Sarah and her team were recently also shortlisted for the Public Law Team of the Year at the Wales Legal Awards. The LALY’s are the renowned yearly awards awarded by the Legal Aid Practitioner’s Group. The ceremony will take place in London on July 12th, 2022.

 

To contact Sarah Griffiths-Jones, please contact us through her staff profile here. For other enquiries for our team for Court of Protection in Bristol, please contact us through the webpage here.

Reeds Solicitors LLP is an award winning, leading national law firm specialising in personal and business law. Reeds Solicitors LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority: SRA Number 637962