Pictued above: Natalie Roberts, GHP Legal
A committed young law graduate who impressed bosses at a leading
Shropshire and North Wales law firm by gaining Law Society
accreditation for the Mental Health Review Panel just half way
through a two year training contract has qualified as a
Solicitor.
Natalie Roberts, who will be doing mental health and family work
with an emphasis on care work, joined GHP Legal in July 2009 after
completing the Legal Practice Course at Chester College of Law
where she was awarded the coveted Brown Dunne & Gray prize for
obtaining the highest mark in Advanced Litigation in the 2009 Legal
Practice Course examinations.
The young mother of one originally gained a degree in Psychology
and worked as an Applied Behaviour Analysis Tutor for autistic
children, but decided to change career after taking an A level in
Law. Whilst studying at Chester College of Law for the Legal
Practice Course she worked as a Volunteer Appropriate Adult with
the Wrexham Youth Justice Service and for the Tribunal Support
Scheme for the National Autistic Society.
Since joining GHP Legal two years ago Natalie has represented
clients at Mental Health Tribunals alongside working to enforce the
rights of mental health patients and advising their relatives on
their rights and responsibilities to be involved. Following a
successful interview in London she gained accreditation for the
Mental Health Review Panel in September 2010.
John Lancaster, a Partner of GHP Legal and head of the firm's
Mental Health Team, said: "Natalie's achievement, even before she
qualified, unusually gave us three accredited members on our team
who can act quickly if a client is sectioned under the Mental
Health Act and ensure their detention is reviewed as early as
possible - either by a Mental Health Review Tribunal or by hospital
managers. Given her progress to date I would expect Natalie, on her
recent qualification, to be more than a match for Solicitors or
Barristers qualified for three or more years."
Natalie said: "I was keen to gain accreditation for the Mental
Health Review Panel as early as possible so that I could see cases
through to conclusion and ensure continuity for my clients. Now I
am delighted to have qualified as a Solicitor and to have been
offered a position as such at GHP Legal. I thoroughly enjoyed my
training contract and believe the firm provided me with an
extremely good basis to begin my legal career. GHP Legal is one of
only a very few law firms in the area that has the expertise to
deal with mental health cases. It is my intention to continue to
progress and gain experience within the firm and to provide a high
quality service to my clients."