There are many books on the Court of Protection. It is an area of law increasing in importance and practitioners will find this volume by experienced authors very useful – especially those that do not often litigate.

Perhaps the main issue is whether the application is really urgent. What is ‘extreme urgency’? A case that a client says is urgent can look very different by the time you get to court. Urgent usually means costly, and it is disastrous to get it wrong. Hindsight is a marvellous thing. What appeared pressing suddenly seems routine. And vice versa – a routine application can take on urgency.  

Authors: Her Honour Nazreen Pearce, District Judge Sue Jackson

Publisher: Informa Law from Routledge (£80)

This second edition includes new chapters on disclosure; restrictions on publication and attendance by representatives of the media have been added. There are tips on how to avoid pitfalls in making applications for property and affairs, personal welfare orders and registering enduring and lasting powers of attorney.

The book covers those applications that are less commonly encountered in day-to-day private client practice – the ones that come up more frequently now but where we, as practitioners, face a steep learning curve to deal with them. Not only does this feature the usual topics, it also covers urgent and serious medical treatment, children between 16 and 18, publicity issues and applying for suspension of a deputy. As the Mental Capacity Act becomes embedded in our legal landscape, we will be faced with these less common cases more regularly, so this is a very helpful addition to your library.

There are clear explanations of the background legislation, concepts and cases for a variety of different matters that might need to be brought before the court, as well as easy to follow instructions and easily adaptable precedents.  

David Pickup is senior partner and Kathryn Sykes an associate at Aylesbury-based Pickup & Scott