Ashtons Legal’s 5th annual brain injury conference raises £3,000 for charity

Ashtons’ Court of Protection team this week hosted their 5th annual Brain Injury Case Management conference which, through exhibitor and attendee bookings, raised £3,000 for the Ashtons Charitable Trust. The Trust supports a number of local charities who do work with communities in East Anglia.

Organised by Ashtons’ events team, the inaugural conference was held in London in 2014 and has since taken place annually in Coventry, save for a hiatus in 2017. Growing in size and momentum, this years event was the largest yet, supported by 20 exhibitors and had over 120 practitioners in attendance. Feedback for the event continues to be hugely positive, with many exhibitors supporting the event since its first year.

The Court of Protection team at Ashtons Legal specialise in the management of Property and Financial Deputyships for clients nationwide who lack capacity to manage their own affairs. With particular expertise in catastrophic ABI and Cerebral Palsy cases, many of the Deputyships run by the team involve ongoing litigation and the appointment of a specialist Brain Injury Case Manager.

The conference brings together case managers in an independent forum in which they share best practice, network and learn. Sponsored by financial advisors Tilney, there have been opportunities to sponsor a number of places which are allocated to students and to the NHS and local councils. The event is also regularly attended by OT’s, Physiotherapists and other professionals with an interest in this specialist field.

This year’s event was chaired by barrister Rob Horner of 9 Gough Square, a regular face at the event. This year’s theme was ‘Complex relationships within the brain injury and case management field’ and speakers included Neelam Kaur-Gupta of Premium Care Solutions, Leon Ayree of OFH Care, and Ashtons’ client Jamie Webb along with his mother Lucy and support worker Peter, bravely sharing their story and demonstrating their humourous take on their relationship, providing a glimpse into Jamie’s day to day life. Greatly received by all that heard it, it was a true reminder of the positive effect the right support can have on both clients and their whole family.

The afternoon was kicked off with a joint presentation by Head of the Court of Protection team, Adrian Mundell, and Head of Injury Services at Ashtons who were presenting on the important relationship between the Deputy and the claimant litigation team. Jo Cotgrove from the firm’s Family team spoke about a recent case involving cohabitation, safeguarding and capacity to marry in the context of a vulnerable client. Jo was joined by case manager Birgit Richardson-Rathje of Green Owl Therapy and Clare Sturman, a Relationship Manager in the Court of Protection team. The final part of the day heard from Wendy Ruffle, an expert from Jacqueline Webb and Co who are rehabilitation cost consultants, and Andrew Kerr, a defendant solicitor at BLM Law, who took questions from the floor.

The date for the 2020 event is Thursday 5 November and it will be held again at the Coventry Hilton Hotel.