Paying For Residential Care

Austin Thornton began his legal career in the advice sector providing debt and welfare benefits advice at Huddersfield Citizens Advice Bureau in the 1980s and early 1990s. He qualified as a solicitor in 1995, working for the GLP group in Salford. He provided a legal aid social welfare law service in the areas of debt, family crime and housing law and in the latter area was legal aid franchise supervisor. During this period Austin also worked in personal injury law and left GLP to specialise in this area from 2000 to 2009, during which period he was promoted to partner at a major northern firm. Wishing to return to social welfare law, Austin joined the Sheffield office of Wrigleys Solicitors LLP in 2010 where he specialises in community care and Court of Protection work. He has provided expert witness reports with regard to the impact of statutory funding on damages recovery in personal injury cases and is often consulted by other solicitors relating to community care issues affecting their cases. Austin is a regular speaker, providing both training and talks in his areas of interest and has published a number of articles in Private Client Adviser, Journal of Social Care and Neurodisability and Journal of Personal Injury Law. He is a legal adviser to Sheffield Carers Centre where he runs a free legal clinic. Austin is a director of Wrigleys Trustees Ltd, a trust corporation appointed as Court of Protection as deputy for property and affairs. His particular role as deputy is to deal with care issues for clients, advising on the management of money for care, liaising with statutory services and resolving disputes over the provision of care.