Practice profile:
Hugh Jones Solicitors

Manchester-based Hugh Jones Solicitors is the country’s leading firm of independent Court of Protection solicitors.

Founded by Hugh Jones, a nationally recognised leader with over 30 years of experience, the multi-award-winning firm supports vulnerable people, particularly those with mental incapacity, their families and their advisers, local authorities and law firms.

Court of Protection services offered by Hugh Jones Solicitors include:

Professional deputyship

The Court of Protection appoints a professional Deputy to manage the affairs of people who have lost the capacity to do this for themselves.

Our growing team of solicitors is supported by experienced staff who look after our clients’ financial affairs, properties and support workers, dealing with all aspects of the necessary administrative and legal work.

Working within the Mental Capacity Act framework, we ensure that clients who lack capacity are empowered to make as many decisions for themselves as possible and that any decision made on their behalf is in their best interests.

Financial and property support

The firm’s in-house specialists are highly experienced in ensuring deputyship clients receive the welfare benefits they’re entitled to and pursuing statutory funding to meet care needs – Hugh Jones Solicitors can also manage direct payments and personal health budgets on behalf of clients.

The firm also prepares wills for clients, whether the client can give instructions or a statutory will needs to be made on their behalf because they lack testamentary capacity.

Regarding property, the in-house conveyancing team acts on behalf of deputyship clients throughout all stages of the process involved in buying or selling freehold or leasehold property.

They also carry out residential property transactions in probate matters and for trust clients.

Court of Protection HR services

Hugh Jones Solicitors’ professional deputies act as employers of the support workers and personal assistants who look after clients in their homes.

One of the firm’s most unique offerings is the in-house specialist employment and HR team, which provides a full range of services and support for clients, their families, and the employed care team and directly employs carers on behalf of our deputyship clients.

Services provided cover the whole spectrum of employment and HR requirements, including:

Contracts of employment and employee handbooks tailored to the needs of each client and team
Pre-employment checks, including DBS
Payroll and timesheet management
Holiday and absence management
Grievance processes on behalf of the employer
Disciplinary procedures on behalf of the employer
Safeguarding issues arising in respect of support worker employment
Conduct and capability issues.

The firm offers a complete HR package for clients who require a more holistic, hands-on approach.

This includes regular supervision of the care team from an employee relations perspective, which enables experts to provide the employer with an overview of their team relations and identify any issues.

This level of proactive staff management pre-empts the impact of any potential problems whilst improving the employment relationship.

If a case manager is already in place, specialists work collaboratively to ensure that when issues arise, the correct expert is undertaking the work, offering a more cost-effective service and solution for the client.

Spotlight on our experts

Jill Rushton, director

Jill specialises in all aspects of property and finances Court of Protection work and has acted as an Expert Witness on Court of Protection matters in primarily high-value personal injury and clinical negligence cases.

Jill acts as Deputy for clients who have lost capacity, and her work includes the management of significant settlements, which are used to fund care and therapy packages, specialist equipment and property purchases/adaptation projects.

Jill is a ‘key lawyer’ in the Legal 500 2024, a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP), a member of The Association of Lifetime Lawyers (formerly Solicitors for the Elderly) and a Dementia Friend.

David Jones, director

David has a comprehensive understanding of the Court of Protection and mental capacity law, managing a caseload of files that ranges from young children with acquired brain injuries to elderly clients living with dementia.

In addition to managing his clients’ property and financial affairs, David has experience representing applicants and respondents in contested Court of Protection proceedings.

He has successfully acted for and against lay attorneys and deputies under investigation by the Office of the Public Guardian.

In addition to his usual caseload, David regularly works with social workers in local authorities across the North West, both professionally and to provide training and guidance on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and The Court of Protection.

Chris Gallagher, director and Head of Court of Protection

Chris is heavily involved in managing the deputyships of clients who lack capacity.

He works closely with the firm’s wider team and other professionals involved in clients’ financial, legal, care, and welfare matters.

He has vast experience working with brain-injured clients and their families to ensure their property and affairs are managed as effectively as possible.

He regularly advises family members who are lay deputies in their duties.

He also has experience investigating clients’ financial affairs, where allegations of financial abuse or misappropriation of funds have been made against former attorneys or deputies.

Chris is experienced in working on a range of complex contested Court of Protection cases, including issues surrounding foreign property and jurisdiction, challenges to the validity of Enduring and Lasting Powers of Attorney, and the appointment of and removal of deputies.

Chris is an Institute of Legal Executives graduate and is listed in the Legal 500 2024 as a ‘Next Generation Partner’.

For more information about Hugh Jones Solicitors, visit www.hughjonessolicitors.co.uk or call 0161 871 3860 to speak with an expert today.