Elizabeth Okinda Consult

Strategic public law advisory and drafting support for local authority legal and children's services teams, reducing litigation risk at every stage of the decision-making cycle.

• —JR risk advisory notes identifying specific vulnerabilities and litigation exposure, anchored to current case law and SRA-quality drafting standards.
• —Pre-action protocol response drafting on contested decisions: age assessment, EHCP, NRPF, homelessness and care leaver matters.
• —Quality assurance review of statutory assessments and decision letters before they are the subject of a challenge.
• —Strategic advice on settlement, withdrawal and consent in defended judicial review matters.
• —Interim consultancy support covering specific projects or peaks in demand within your in-house team.
• —Retainer arrangements for committed advisory days per month, providing predictable access to specialist capacity.

⏱ JR risk advisory notes: 5–10 working days

Strategic advice on Children Act 1989 duties and safeguarding frameworks for local authority children's services and legal teams, at the point where statutory decision-making is most heavily scrutinised.

• —Advice on sections 17, 20, 47 and Schedule 2 duties, including threshold analysis in complex and contested cases.
• —Threshold and risk analysis support in cases where the legal basis for intervention, or non-intervention, needs to be clearly reasoned and documented.
• —Support with safeguarding protocol and policy development for teams and partner agencies.
• —Quality assurance review of safeguarding assessments and decision letters.
• —Specialist training for social work and legal teams on safeguarding law, designed and delivered personally.

Human Rights Assessment drafting and ECHR analysis in social care and NRPF contexts, produced to a standard that withstands pre-action scrutiny and, where necessary, litigation.

• —Drafting and review of Human Rights Assessments under the Care Act 2014 / NRPF framework, ensuring the reasoning is clearly structured and proportionality is properly addressed.
• —Article 3, 6, 8 and 14 ECHR analysis in safeguarding and public law contexts.
• —Advisory and litigation support on complex HRA decision-making, including capacity to act as solicitor on the record where litigation proceeds.
• —Training for social workers and legal teams on Human Rights Assessment methodology, delivered through scenario-based learning.

Merton-compliance review, procedural fairness advice and Pre-Action Protocol drafting support for local authority age assessment teams, from a solicitor with substantial operational experience in this field.

• —Merton-compliance reviews of completed age assessments, identifying specific legal vulnerabilities and litigation risk before they crystallise into proceedings.
• —Advisory support on short-form and Brief Enquiry methodologies, including procedural fairness obligations under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 framework.
• —Pre-Action Protocol response drafting in contested age assessment matters, prepared to a standard suitable for filing.
• —Document and template development: assessment templates, decision letters and quality assurance frameworks for age assessment teams.
• —Capacity to act in age assessment judicial review as solicitor on the record, where the matter requires full conduct.

⏱ Merton-compliance reviews: 7 working days

Specialist SEND tribunal experience and education law advisory, providing local authority SEND and legal teams with the insight needed to produce decisions and evidence that are clearly reasoned and JR-resilient.

• —Expertise in First-tier Tribunal (SEND) processes, case preparation and robust evidence structuring from an authority perspective.
• —Insight into the considerations that drive settlement, mediation and consent in SEND disputes, enabling earlier, more cost-effective resolution.
• —Judicial review experience relating to SEND Tribunal decisions, to understand what makes an authority's position defensible at the next stage of challenge.
• —Quality assurance of EHCP decision-making and decision letters, assessed against the current litigation landscape.

Specialist JR drafting and strategy support for local authority defendants, from pre-action stage through to substantive hearing, working alongside your in-house team and external panel firm.

• —Drafting of summary grounds of defence and detailed grounds, produced to a standard that reflects current case law and regulatory expectations.
• —Pre-action protocol response drafting: the stage at which early, well-reasoned engagement can resolve a challenge before it reaches the Administrative Court.
• —Strategic advice across the lifecycle of the claim: Pre-Action Protocol stage, permission, substantive hearing, settlement and costs.
• —Collaborative working with your in-house legal team and external panel firm: the practice produces the specialist drafting; your team retains conduct of the proceedings.

High-impact, personally-delivered training and simulation for social work and legal teams, grounded in real litigation risk and designed to improve the quality of frontline statutory decision-making.

• —Bespoke training programmes for local authority social work teams, legal teams and partner agencies, designed personally by Elizabeth, not purchased off the shelf.
• —Simulation-based workshops on: Section 20 conversations, Human Rights Assessments, age assessment Brief Enquiry methodology, panel decision-making, safeguarding scenarios.
• —Flexible delivery formats: half-day, full-day or modular programmes, commissioned at a project fee.
• —All training is calibrated against the current litigation landscape, so teams understand not just what the law requires, but what happens when it goes wrong.