Natalie Thorpe

Natalie joined TV Edwards in December 2020 and became a trainee solicitor in September 2021. Natalie is due to complete her training in August 2023.

Natalie began her training in the Social Welfare team working on Housing and Court of Protection matters. Natalie has spent the last six months working as part of the Family Children team on cases concerning children in both public and private law proceedings. Natalie has rejoined the Social Welfare team where she is supporting Katie Brown and Maya Jordan-Shah on a wide range of Housing, Community Care and Court of Protection cases.

Before joining TV Edwards, Natalie managed her own caseload as a housing paralegal at a West London law firm and specialised in homelessness matters. Natalie is particularly experienced at assisting clients with challenging gatekeeping practices and adverse decisions made by local authorities in homelessness applications.

Natalie’s interest in access to justice, and particularly legal aid, stems from her time volunteering at Citizens Advice. It demonstrated the importance of achieving quality client care with limited resources.

Memberships

• Junior Housing Law Practitioners Association
• Young Legal Aid Lawyers

Recommendations

” I was immediately put at ease from the first telephone conversation with Leslie Jaji (Housing) and his assistant Natalie Thorpe….Leslie and Natalie have always been directly available on the phone to discuss any developments which has been an immense benefit and greatly appreciated during a global pandemic”.

Notable Cases

Natalie has experience of acting for clients with significant vulnerabilities in urgent matters. In one case, the Council had decided that a client who suffered with various mental health conditions did not have a priority need for housing assistance. As a result, the client was asked to leave the temporary accommodation which the Council had provided her with while they were assessing her application.

The client instructed us the day before the accommodation was due to end. Natalie successfully persuaded the local authority to extend the temporary housing the same day. New medical evidence was provided to the Council during the extension period which led to a new homelessness application being accepted and ended the client’s risk of homelessness. Through Natalie’s efforts, the Council later accepted that the client should continue to be accommodated until suitable settled accommodation was found.

Despite not having a background in family law, Natalie was found to possess the relevant skills which meant that she could be trusted to be the lead representative on a private law case whilst working in the family team. The client instructed us to apply for a Prohibited Steps Order which would stop the child’s father from having unauthorised contact with the child. The application was submitted and placed before a Judge for a hearing on the same day. Due to the short notice, Natalie had to represent the client at the hearing. The Judge listened to and was persuaded by Natalie’s arguments for why the order should be granted. Therefore the client’s application was successful and the child is protected from his father’s actions.