Formerly the head of private client at an award-winning boutique practice in Manchester, Carol now practises in-house in local government with a caseload encompassing a wide spectrum of mental health, capacity, and disability law. She has specialised in elder law since qualification in 2002 and has particular expertise in mental capacity and Court of Protection law and practice, powers of attorney, trusts, wills, care funding and related legal work.
She acts for a wide range of individuals, many of whom have disabilities, or whose loved ones have disabilities. She has particular expertise in the legal issues affecting people with dementia and their families and has been a Vice Chair of the Salford Dementia Action Alliance since 2014. As befits someone who was born in Northern Ireland, but has spent many years living in England, Carol is particularly interested in cross-border aspects of capacity law.
As well as being a qualified solicitor, Carol joined The Association of Lifetime Lawyers in 2011. She is recognised as a Recommended Individual by the Legal 500. She is recognised as a Recommended Individual by the Legal 500. Carol is also a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (‘STEP’) and the Court of Protection Practitioner’s Association (CoPPA). Carol is also a trustee of charity Sibs UK, which provides support for the brothers and sisters of disabled children and adults.
In 2014 Carol was awarded a masters degree with distinction in mental health and capacity law. She has recently finished a six-year term on STEP’s Mental Capacity Special Interest Group steering committee, and lectures and writes on her areas of interest.