Morris joined Weightmans in 2007, having previously spent 10 years working for in-house local authority teams, latterly as a Principal Solicitor. Morris specialises in all aspects of public law, with a particular emphasis on social care, healthcare and education. Morris regularly acts for local authorities in matters relating to child protection and children with disabilities, adult protection and best interests determinations, applications before the Court of Protection, general community care obligations, ordinary residence disputes, mental health law, commissioning and contractual arrangement and charging. He advises local authorities and individual schools on school organisation, exclusions and admissions, SEN provision, school transport and general strategic advice. His healthcare clients include hospital and mental health trusts and ambulance services to which he provides general healthcare law advice, particularly in relation to mental health/capacity law, consent issues and provision of and withdrawal of treatment. Morris also has an interest in all aspects of public and Human Rights law and information governance. He frequently advises his public sector clients on responding to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and their obligations under data protection legislation. He also regularly provides training to lawyers, clinicians and other medical staff and local authority officers. Morris has been recognised for a number of years as a ‘Star Associate’ and ‘notable practitioner’ by Chambers & Partners in the category of Court of Protection: Health & Welfare (Public Sector Clients). He also sits as a Fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Health, Education & Social Care Chamber). Morris has acted in a number of reported and important cases, including: HH v Carmarthenshire CC & Ots [2023] EWCOP 18 (whether the same judge can make best interests decisions in respect of more than one person) Fixsler v Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust [2021] 4 WLR 123 (withdrawal of life sustaining treatment) An NHS Trust v ZA [2021] EWCOP 39 (below the knee amputation) Surrey CC v NHS Lincolnshire CCG [2021] 2 WLR 805 (claim for restitution/NHS Continuing Healthcare) A Local Authority v H (No.2) [2019] 2 WLUK 767 (capacity to have sexual relations, but not contact) R (Paul Worthington) v HM Senior Coroner for Cumbria & Others [2018] 12 WLUK 124 (challenge to Coroner’s conclusions) R (City of Wolverhampton Council) v South Worcestershire CCG & Shropshire CCG [2018] EWHC 1136 (Admin) (responsible commissioner) In The Matter of Human Fertilisation Embryology Act 2008 (Case M) [2016] Fam Law 1089 (declaration of parentage) HM Senior Coroner for Cumbria v Ian Smith [2015] Inquest LR 235 (application by Coroner to quash previous Coroner’s decision) Wirral Borough Council v Salisbury Independent Living [2012] HLR 25 (meaning of ‘person affected’ for the purposes of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000) A Local Authority v H [2012] 1 FCR 590 (the test for capacity to enter sexual relations) R (RH) v SSHD & Wigan BC [2010] EWHC 2414 (age assessment) R (Broster & others) v Wirral BC [2010] EWHC 3086 (Refusal to provide Personal Budgets) R (Culkin) v Wirral Independent Appeal Panel [2009] ELR 287 (school exclusion) W PCT v TB & S MBC, CW NHS Trust & W MBC [2010] 2 All ER 331(Mental Health Act 1983 / Mental Capacity Act 2005) R (F & Others) v Wirral BC [2009] BLGR 905 (community care / Supporting People Programme) R (Manchester CC) v St Helens BC & PE [2009] WLR (D) 319 (ordinary residence dispute) R (St Helens BC) v Manchester PCT [2008] Times, October 6 (NHS continuing healthcare) St Helens BC v PE & JW and Manchester PCT [2007] 2 FLR 1115 (best interests under the inherent jurisdiction) E v Channel 4 V Channel 4 & News International Ltd and St Helens BC [2005] 2 FLR 913 (injunction/declaratory relief) R (on the application of Haggerty & Others) v St Helens BC [2003] HLR 69 (care home closure) R v Dr Finnegan & DE ex parte Wirral Health Authority and Wirral BC [2001] MHLR 66 (effect of quashing order on MHRT decision) R v Chief Schools Adjudicator, ex p Wirral BC [2001] ELR 574 (challenge of decision of the adjudicator) R v (1) Wirral BC (2) Governors of Elleray Park School, ex p B [2001] ELR 266 (special educational needs) R v Schools Adjudicator, ex parte Metropolitan Borough of Wirral [2000] ELR 2620 (challenge of decision of the adjudicator)
England - North West • Public sector
Weightmans LLP
Weightmans LLP’s health group continued to expand the team and increased its client portfolio after the merger with RadcliffesLeBrasseur LLP in June 2022. The practice acts for public bodies, public or private businesses, not for profit enterprises and individuals on a wide range of matters including high level judicial review cases, public inquiries where it has particular expertise, employment disputes, information management and governance reviews and investigations. The group is jointly led by Richard Jolly who focuses on the health work, most notably acting for a vast number of NHS trusts, Dewi Ap-Thomas who oversees the regulatory side of the practice and employment expert Emlyn Williams.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The Weightmans health team are exceptionally good. I predominantly receive instructions from Morris Hill, but I often have interactions with other, more junior, members of the team and when I do I am consistently impressed.'
- 'Morris Hill is exceptional - he is highly experienced and respected in the field. He deals with acutely complex and sensitive cases, including treatment withdrawal cases. We worked very closely on a very sensitive treatment case in a child which was our most significant case together. Although the case was high pressure, Morris always remained calm under pressure. He would be my first choice to recommend to a health authority in this area - he is excellent with clients and has a really nice manner with them, but equally he is pragmatic and sensible in his advice.'
Key clients
- NHS Resolution
- Tameside & Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
- St Helens & Knowsley NHS FT
- Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
- NHS Blood & Transplant
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
- Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
- Liverpool University NHS FT
- Alder Hey Children’s NHS FT
- Countess of Chester NHS FT
- Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust
- NHS England
- Bolton CCG
- Mersey Care NHS FT
- Partnership Caring Ltd
- Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS FT
- Wirral University Hospitals NHS FT
Work highlights
- Advised St Helens & Knowsley NHS FT on its takeover of Southport & Ormskirk NHS FT.
- Represented the NWAS, one of the key Core Participants at the Public Inquiry into the bombing at the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017.
- Advising NHS Blood & Transplant on its joint funding (with Cure Leukaemia) of and provision of services to ACT Limited, a newly formed company which together with its ACT Charity will build a clinical trial network in the UK.
Lawyers
Rising stars
Leading individuals
Richard is the national head of our health sector practice and has overall responsibility for leading on the delivery of legal services to existing and new health sector clients. This entails enhancing the quality of the legal services we provide, the development of new products and new markets. Richard sits on the NHS Resolution steering group. This group is tasked with improving KPIs, and identifying how we might best support NHS Resolution in meeting its strategic aims. Richard has been an NHS Resolution Nominated Partner for nearly 20 years for both clinical and non-clinical claims. He leads internally on our non-clinical offering, working closely with NHS Resolution management teams to help them meet the challenges presented by this ever-changing sector. Richard is the client partner for a number of NHS Trusts, focussing on patient safety and helping them identify the learning from incidents, inquests, complaints and claims and how to embed improvements. Richard has become a trusted adviser to a number of healthcare organisations, such as NWAS, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS FT and Tameside & Glossop Integrated Care NHS FT, with the result that Weightmans are now instructed by these Trusts on inquests, and investigations but often on employment, commercial law and property transactions.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Richard Jolly, Dewi Ap Thomas, Emlyn Williams