Richard M Jones

Consultant
Contact details

029 2068 6000

He is the authority.

Chambers and Partners, 2025

Richard consults on Mental Health and Community Care law.

Main areas of Practice

Richard advises on all aspects of the Mental Health Act and the Mental Capacity Act as well as representing hospitals at Mental Health Review Tribunal Hearings.

Expertise

Career

Richard is dual qualified as a solicitor and a social worker. His previous appointments include a senior lectureship in social work at Cardiff University and the Deputy Directorship of Social Services at Mid Glamorgan County Council.

Contact details

029 2068 6000

Accreditations
Top Ranked Uk Chambers 2018
Memberships
  • Law Society's Mental Health and Disability Committee.

Significant Experience

  • Commissioned by the Department of Health to propose revisions to the Department’s "Memorandum on the Mental Health Act 1983".
  • Appointed by Department of Health and Home Office ministers in 2005 to be a member of the Department of Health’s "Mental Health Act Implementation Advisory Group".
  • Richard was the legal adviser to the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health’s report on Self-Harm which was commissioned by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
  • In 1983 he was appointed by the Secretary of State to be a founding member of the Mental Health Act Commission and is currently a member of the Law Society's Mental Health and Disability Committee.

Additional Expertise

Richard is the author of the Mental Health Act Manual, the “Bible” of the Mental Health Act, now published in its 17th edition. It has been extensively cited in the High Court, and is used as a standard work of reference by lawyers and clinicians. He is also the author of the Mental Capacity Act Manual, now published in its sixth edition. Richard is a General Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Social Services and Child Care Law and is an Honorary Professor of Law at Cardiff University.

Quotes

He's steeped in knowledge of the Mental Health Act.

Chambers and Partners, 2022 - Senior Statespeople

"Very knowledgeable, helpful and able to provide quick responses which are exactly on point."

Chambers and Partners, 2020

Richard Jones is a go-to for his magisterial command of regulatory and criminal proceedings in the field, and is the author of the widely cited Mental Health Act Manual, now in its 20th edition. A client says: "My first point of contact will always be Richard Jones. He gives clear, concise advice which is always reassuring."

Chambers and Partners, 2019

He's the oracle in mental health law.

Chambers and Partners, 2018

Insights by Richard M

articles

Possession orders for hospital beds – a checklist
16 December - Richard M Jones

What is the guidance on possession orders for hospital beds? In the recent case of Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust v Mercer [2024] EWHC 2515 (KB), the Court provided legal...

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case-studies

The deprivation of liberty whilst in police custody
20 August - Richard M Jones

In the case of Surrey Police v PC and others [2024] EWHC 1274 (Fam), the High Court considered an application to authorise the deprivation of liberty of a person in...

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case-studies

Remote Assessment & the Mental Health Act 1983 – remote technology cannot be used for CTOs, renewals of detention and guardianship orders
18 December - Richard M Jones

A recent case has reiterated that remote technology cannot be used for community treatment orders (CTOs), renewals of detention and guardianship orders.

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