News & Events
News & Events
The case was before the Upper Tier Mental Health Tribunal and concerned the discharge of a restricted patient who had been assessed to lack capacity to make decisions about various matters including his residence and compliance with psychotropic medication regime. Outer Temple’s Alex Cisneros appeared as counsel for the Secretary of State for Justice in this case. The Upper Tier (UTT) was considering an appeal relating to a 63 year old man, ML, who was a restricted patient detained under sections 47 and 49 of the Mental Health Act 1983. His tariff (the criminal aspect of his detention) expired 30 years ago. ML was seeking a conditional discharge from detention. The First Tier Tribunal (FTT) had heard evidence that the patient lacked capacity…
News 28 Nov, 2023
Outer Temple Chambers are delighted to share this year’s great success with appointments to the Attorney General’s Panel. Bianca Venkata, Jeremy Scott-Joynt, Patrick Tomison and Carin Hunt have been appointed to the C Panel, whilst Alex Cisneros has been appointed from the C to B panel. The Government Legal Department (GLD) administers the Attorney General’s Panel Counsel. The GLD relies on the junior counsel panel for advice and representation. We’re pleased to announce that Alex Cisneros has been appointed from the C to B Panel. Members appointed to the B Panel will generally be instructed where knowledge and experience of a particular field is required. B panel applicants will generally have between 5 and 10 years’ advocacy experience. Bianca Venkata,…
News 7 Aug, 2023
We look forward to Outer Temple’s John McKendrick KC and Alex Cisneros speaking at the White Paper Conference on Court of Protection: Shaping New Law into Solution-Focused Answers for Your Clients in London on Wednesday 14th June. John McKendrick KC’s talk on Capacity, answering ‘Where is the tipping point over borderline and fluctuating capacity, including distorted memories, false beliefs and personality change?’ will begin at 12:10. Followed by, Alex Cisneros’ talk on Property, answering ‘How far can you push the Court when evidencing a decision to sell a property when moving a person permanently into residential care?’ Further details on the conference can be found here. Find out more John McKendrick KC practises in all areas of public and commercial law and…
News 13 Jun, 2023
The Legal 500 UK 2023 Rankings have been announced and Outer Temple Chambers is delighted with the results. With over 60 barristers now holding rankings across 27 practice areas and some glowing feedback, we are honoured to have been described as a “go-to set” once again. We are particularly delighted that the hard work of our juniors has been noticed and would like to congratulate Bianca Venkata and Victoria Brown for their elevation from Rising Stars to a Tiered ranking. As they now start working their way up the ranks we welcome four new juniors into the Rising Stars category; Alex Cisneros, Carin Hunt, Imogen Egan and Olinga Tahzib. Congratulations also to Alex Haines, Clare Baker, David Haines, Joshua Hitchens…
News 29 Sep, 2022
Discharging a deputy is not a step that would be taken lightly and professional deputies should not expect to step aside merely because they consider it to be necessary. Alex Cisneros’ article is published in Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal where he discusses a recent case concerning discharging deputies in the Court of Protection. In this article, originally published in Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal, Alex Cisneros considers the circumstances when a court will discharge a deputy. He explores the case of Kambli v The Public Guardian [2021] EWCOP 53 in which Claire van Overdijk, also of Outer Temple Chambers, appeared as counsel for the applicant. Discharging a Court of Protection deputy is not a step…
External Publications 7 Apr, 2022
Alex Cisneros appeared in a recent reported case before the Court of Protection, in which the Court investigated an unusual situation involving restrictions imposed on a young man at serious risk of offending. The case involved a young man with a history of offending and variable compliance with authorities. There was a risk, given his offending history and drug and alcohol reliance that the court would be forced to place him in a highly restrictive environment. Ultimately, the local authority adopted a multi-disciplinary approach and a solution was found. Alex Cisneros represented the local authority, who the court thanked for its “hard work” to find a safe placement for the protected party that would not be unnecessary restrictive. The case…
News 9 Dec, 2021
John McKendrick QC has been successful in defending a costs order appeal by the son of his client’s late husband after the judge departed from the general rule of awarding successful parties their costs in Algeilani v El Samawi [2021] EWCA Civ 997. Alex Cisneros provides a helpful case summary . The deceased’s son had succeeded in his claim exclusively by the introduction of a new argument. This new point was only raised following circulation of a draft judgment giving judgment against him. The judge reconsidered his judgment in light of this new point but, in the subsequent costs order, the judge decided to award costs only from the date he introduced the new argument. The judge also required the…
News 17 Aug, 2021
On Friday 16th July, Alex Cisneros will present a seminar about security bonds for Court of Protection deputies during an MBL webinar to an audience of solicitors and other barristers. The webinar will explore the need for, and purpose of, deputyship security bonds, detailing how to amend a security bond once a deputy is already appointed; and the steps necessary to call in a security bond. MBL describes itself as the leading force in learning & development for professional service firms. To find out more about this MBL seminar or to access this session in full, please click here or email MBL Seminars. About the speaker Alex Cisneros is a specialist public law and private client barrister. He has experience handling significant contentious and non-contentious matters…
Events 13 Jul, 2021
Tim Nesbitt QC and Alex Cisneros were successful this month in a Court of Appeal case, in which the Court of Appeal gives authoritative guidance on the approach required of Court of Protection under Article 6 of ECHR when considering excluding a party from proceedings. The case was an appeal against orders made by Mr Justice Hayden, the Vice-President of the Court of Protection, to exclude the mother of a highly vulnerable 19-year-old woman (“P”) from proceedings relating to the best interests of P. Allegations of sexual abuse by her partner against P had been made and were being investigated by the police. Tim Nesbitt QC and Alex Cisneros represented the mother, who had been excluded without being given an…
News 20 Apr, 2021
We are delighted to announce new appointments to the Attorney General’s A and C panels. Naomi Ling joins the A Panel, Rob Dickason joins the B Panel and four members of Chambers have been added to the C Panel. Naomi Ling joins the Attorney General’s A Panel, recognising her considerable expertise in employment and pension law. The A Panel deals with the most complex government cases in all kinds of courts and tribunals. Members will often appear against QCs. In general, those appointed to the A Panel will have over 10 years’ advocacy experience. Rob Dickason joins the Attorney General’s B Panel and continues to represent a range of Government departments in a variety of healthcare-related public and private law…
News 3 Sep, 2020
Private Client barristers Claire van Overdijk and Alex Cisneros consider the benefits and challenges of creating a Lasting Power of Attorney during the current COVID-19 pandemic. So much has changed in the last few weeks and the legal industry is no exception. Claire and Alex provide guidance on what can be done during COVID-19, taking examples from other jurisdictions where witnessing LPAs by video link has been permitted through emergency laws. They explore where LPAs developed from and how the legal conceptualisation of substituted decision has been codified in various statutory materials. They also look at two requirements for making an LPA where mistakes are often made; providing a certificate and witnessing signatures. Finally, the article considers business LPAs as…
Covid-19 22 Apr, 2020
Alex Cisneros acted for the Office of the Public Guardian (“OPG”) in the latest guidance case before the Senior Judge of the Court of Protection, Her Honour Judge Hilder. This case involved fifteen applications where the donor of a Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) had attempted to instruct their attorney to provide financial assistance and maintenance to a person other than themselves. The OPG asked for guidance from the court as to whether this was permitted or whether the instruction would fall foul of the gifting provisions within s.12 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The court confirmed that instructions within an LPA that provide for attorneys to use the donor’s funds to benefit persons other than the donor may…
News 23 Sep, 2019
