Shaun Livingston

Shaun joined TV Edwards in October 2020. He acts for clients who lack capacity to make their own decisions in the Court of Protection, and for clients with a wide variety of community care needs, advocating for the rights and best interests of children in need and care leavers, securing support for disabled adults, challenging unlawful policies and practices on public law grounds, and bringing human rights claim against public authorities where they have violated his clients’ rights.

Shaun is regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor and accepts referrals from a range of advocates and charities. He has previously worked in the Public Law and Human Rights department in Irwin Mitchell, where he assisted on a judicial review of Surrey County Council’s decision to cut £21m from its budget for children with special educational needs, and at GT Stewart, where he acted for the applicant in DL (by her litigation friend the Official Solicitor v London Borough of Enfield [2019] EWCOP B1, in which a judgment was secured by Senior Judge Hilder that restated the vital importance of protected parties being able to access their Article 5 rights in the Court of Protection.

Shaun takes a particular interest in acting for care leavers who are often left without the necessary support to allow for a successful transition to adulthood, and adults with complex needs for care and support that may not be recognised by their local authorities.

In January 2022, Shaun was appointed an Accredited Legal Representative by the Law Society, a qualification which allows him to act for incapacitous clients directly in the Court of Protection without a litigation friend.

Notable cases

• Securing a move to an expensive brain injury rehabilitation unit for a client in the Court of Protection who had been inappropriately placed in a nursing home for people with dementia. After the client’s rehabilitation came to an end, Shaun successfully advocated for him to move to a smaller, more person-centred placement with a care plan rooted in promoting his independence as far as possible
• Obtaining a decision from the Court of Protection in a contested hearing that an elderly man with dementia would receive his vaccinations against COVID-19 during the height of lockdown
• Persuading a local authority to deviate from its policy and fund a care leaver’s application for British citizenship, which he considered vital to his sense of identity and security
• Achieving a significant damages settlement in respect of a client who had been unlawfully deprived of his liberty when a child in his home as a result of a disproportionate care plan put in place for him by his local authority, who should have applied to the Court for authorisation at the time it formulated the care plan. The Court found that the client’s Article 5 and Article 8 ECHR rights had been breached, and ordered the local authority to prepare lawful community care assessments and care plans for the client
• Ensuring a child who was unable to live with her parents received suitable accommodation and care from her local authority
• Gaining care leaver status for a vulnerable young person whose local authority had refused to recognise her as such
• Compelling a local authority to withdraw a decision to suspend a disabled adult’s direct payments. The decision had caused the client significant distress as the direct payments allowed her to have the autonomy and control over how her care was provided
• Securing a local authority’s agreement to reverse a decision to move an asylum seeking care leaver out of his accommodation and into a shared house in a different area. The client had built up strong community ties in his local area and was distraught at the prospect of moving into shared accommodation that were not suitable for his needs
• Obtaining a move for a family with No Recourse to Public Funds from accommodation infested with cockroaches to a clean, more spacious property within proximity of his 15 year old client’s school. The previous accommodation was two hours away from the client’s school, leaving her exhausted and hampering her progress in her GCSE year
• Successfully challenging a decision by a local authority to end the accommodation and supported provided to an adult with renal failure without secure immigration status and No Recourse to Public Funds. The local authority had argued that the adult could safely return to his country of origin, but he had not been there in decades and the vital dialysis keeping him alive in the UK was not available in his country of origin

Shaun is a member of Young Legal Aid Lawyers

Recommendations

Without Shaun my mother wouldn’t have returned safely home with a proper care plan. He was caring, understanding, considerate, he kept us updated with everything and whenever we needed him he was there. He is an excellent lawyer who goes above and beyond for his client.

It was a great pleasure working with you, me and my kids appreciate all your hard work.

It was a pleasure to have you as my solicitor, thank you so much, you really helped my case a lot and were kind and a genuine person.

My solicitor has given me a honest assessment of my case. [Shaun] is easy to talk too readily available and nothing is too much trouble… I feel I have the best chance with Shaun as my solicitor.