A legal panel comprising of experts from five of the UK’s best corporate law firms has been launched by Mencap. Known as Rights Here, Rights Now, the panel will work in conjunction with the Mencap team, with an aim to better the lives of those with a learning disability as well as their families.
Despite Mencap having pride in the fact they have had recognisable impact on individual lives daily, as the area faces increasing demand for legal advice and support, even more issues need to be addressed. The cuts to legal aid and charitable legal services have been widespread and have led to increased difficulties for those with learning disabilities and their families being able to access the necessary quality legal support and advice.
The panel will provide an increased level of support from a larger group of expert individuals, as well as being able to better recognise individuals who would best benefit from the available legal representation and advice.
Rights Here, Rights Now also aims to deal with the various complex issues that those with learning disabilities and their families face, on a range of seriousness levels. Examples may include the securing of Special Educational Needs (SEN) support, appealing benefit decisions, as well as misuse of the Mental Capacity Act and dealing with deprivation of liberty.
The role of the panel is viewed as triage by Mencap, as the members will look at the circumstances of an individual, review it and then outline the available legal tools. Any guidance offered will be presented by Mencap to the individual as well potentially supporting them in finding legal representation where necessary.
CEO of Mencap, Jan Tregelles commented on the legal panel launch and the desired impact it will have upon the firm’s services: “Rights Here, Rights Now is a significant milestone in Mencap’s history. We are committed to providing the best possible support to everyone in the UK with a learning disability, as well as their families, and now we are in a position of being able to offer top quality legal advice and support to some of the families who need it most. We are enormously grateful to those firms who have already committed to our new legal panel and urge other companies to volunteer their services and truly make a difference to those with a learning disability who may find themselves in difficult and distressing legal circumstances, through no fault of their own.”
Mencap are urging other firms to also join Rights Here, Rights Now.
