Conducting Litigation on Behalf of an Incapacitous Client - The Options Explored

Introduction

Legal practitioners must be satisfied that their client has capacity to give proper instructions. Where their client lacks capacity to conduct litigation, they need to be aware of the options available to them and their ongoing professional obligations.

This webinar will consider the options available when a client lacks capacity to conduct proceedings for him or herself.

Such circumstances may include in relation to the Court of Protection, litigation or family proceedings.

The webinar is suitable for practitioners practising litigious areas of law who are inexperienced in dealing with issues of capacity.

The statutory framework under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and accompanying Code of Practice, Court of Protection Rules 2017, Civil Procedure Rules practice directions and case law will also be explored.

In particular, the webinar will consider the judgment of Senior Judge Hilder in ACC & Ors (property and affairs deputy; recovering assets costs for legal proceedings) and how this affects practitioners appointed as deputy for their client and where they wish to instruct their own firm.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• The professional obligations of legal practitioners in assessing their client’s capacity to give instructions
• A brief overview of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the statutory principles
• The relevant case law considering capacity to conduct litigation
• Assessing capacity
• Authority of the Court of Protection
• The role of the Official Solicitor
• Litigation Friends

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Thursday 29th May 2025

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 1,700+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.