Matthew was called to the bar at Middle Temple in October 1994 and entered practice as a tenant at 39 Essex Street the following year, where he remained until 2005.
Matthew's core experience is in all areas of Mental Health Law. He has regularly appeared for patients before Tribunals, the County Court and the High Court in Judicial Review Proceedings. His appearances in the Court of Appeal include S and Munjaz in 2003, which established the status of the Mental Health Act Code of Practice in the context of the seclusion of patients, and Re AL in 2004 which dealt with the lawfulness of the Home Secretary's re-call of a conditionally discharged patient.
Matthew has also represented parties in nearest relative displacement proceedings in the County Court and the Official Solicitor in best interests proceedings in the Family Division. Beyond these areas, Matthew advises generally on Public Law and Human Rights issues arising within the social care field and related areas.
Matthew also has extensive experience in damages claims, primarily in the field of Personal Injury and Health and Safety Law. He represented the crew of the Marchioness in Lord Justice Clarke's Wreck Inquiry in 2000 and was involved in bringing the radon gas tin miners claim in Cornwall, which were successfully compromised in late 2007. He also specialises in damages claims within a public law context, and so far in 2011 has successfully compromised five-figure claims for negligence in care, the unlawful detention of an asylum-seeking minor, and wrongful disclosure in adoption proceedings contrary to s13 of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Recent high profile decisions include TTM v L.B. Hackney & Os [2011] EWCA Civ 4 in the Court of Appeal, which established the principles for local authority liability to meet damages claims for unlawful detention in mental health cases.
Publications
Second Edition of Vincent Nelson QC's the Law of Entertainment and Broadcasting (Sweet & Maxwell, 2000)
Lord Steyn's Lament - Psychiatry Intensive Care Journal (2007)
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