Brian Bacon

Partner/Head of Court of Protection

Specialisms and expertise

Brian has over 20 years of private client practice experience, specialising in Court of Protection work since around 2004, and is head of the firm’s market-leading Court of Protection team. He works on complex personal injury and clinical negligence cases where the claimant lacks capacity and advises on the role of deputy and the likely costs involved.

Brian has particular interest and experience in administering the finances of those who suffer from incapacity due to brain and birth injuries. His experience includes:

acting as a professional deputy appointed by the Court of Protection (the team is appointed as deputies in over 250 cases)
undertaking expert witness work for both claimant and defendant solicitors and joint instructions
acting as a trustee in trusts established to deal with personal injury damages
acting for parties (both applicants and respondents) in Court of Protection proceedings, including contested and non-contested deputyship and statutory will applications.

What his clients and peers say

Chambers UK & Legal 500 conduct independent and anonymous interviews with clients. The 2019 edition of Chambers said Brian is “widely admired for his leading Court of Protection practice. He has significant experience acting as a deputy and trustee in personal injury and clinical negligence cases. A client says: "He's excellent: he's always available, he's reasonable and he's sensible."
In its 2016 edition, Chambers UK noted that Brian “absolutely knows what he's doing, is refreshingly pragmatic and looks at the wider picture in acting for the person who lacks capacity".
The Legal 500 – stated in its 2019 edition that Brian is “very responsive and intelligent – he has very good judgement’; in an earlier edition, it described him as “very highly rated”.

Achievements and other appointments

Ranked as one of only six ‘Band 1’ lawyers for Court of Protection work, UK wide, in the 2019 edition of Chambers UK.
Director of the Thomson Snell & Passmore Trust Corporation
Regular speaker at key industry seminars and conferences including:
- Annual Conference of the Private Client Section of the Law Society (2010 - 2012 and 2015) on Court of Protection issues
- Headway Annual Deputy’s Conference 2016
- Farrar’s Building Brain Injury seminar 2016
- Annual Conference 2011 of Headfirst (a firm of specialist brain injury case managers) on factors that can affect Court of Protection costs.
Commissioned by various publications to write on Court of Protection practice and issues.

Profile

Brian joined the firm in 2000 becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in June 2003. He went on to complete his training whilst working to qualify as a solicitor in November 2006. Brian became a partner in 2011. He is part of the firm’s corporate membership with the British Association of Brain Injury Case Managers.

Brian Bacon is ‘very responsive and intelligent – he has very good judgement’.

The Legal 500 2019

Brian Bacon is widely admired for his leading Court of Protection practice. He has significant experience acting as a deputy and trustee in personal injury and clinical negligence cases. A client says: "He's excellent: he's always available, he's reasonable and he's sensible."

Chambers UK 2019

Very dedicated and professional, and works hard for his clients.

Chambers UK 2020

Brian Bacon is a person we could all turn to in a crisis: he has learnt his craft well and I would trust him to make decisions in the interests of others, not himself or his firm. He works well with clinical professionals, he listens and he takes on board advice whilst remaining true to his role and task. If I lose mental capacity to manage my finances, I want Brian to be my deputy.

Legal 500 2021

Brian Bacon, having taken over the running of the team from Eddie Fardell, has kept up the excellent standard that he set and made sure it is still the outstanding team it has always been.