Georgina Fenton

Public and Administrative

Georgie has a broad public law practice spanning immigration, education, court of protection, healthcare and public inquiries.

Immigration and asylum

Georgie has a strong Claimant immigration practice with experience in asylum appeals, bail hearings, age assessment challenges and asylum accommodation challenges. Examples of her more recent cases include:

• Multiple Albanian trafficking asylum appeals involving vulnerable claimants and children;
• A family reunion appeal for a Syrian national residing in Lebanon;
• A private life appeal against refusal of an application for leave to remain on the basis of over 20 years residence in the UK;
• An asylum appeal on behalf of a lesbian woman and survivor of domestic violence from Georgia made on the basis of her well-founded fear of persecution by virtue of her sexual orientation;
• A legally complex appeal against a deportation order relying on provisions within the Withdrawal Agreement the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016;
• An asylum appeal on behalf of a Kurish Iranian man on the basis of his political opinion, ethnicity, sur place activities in the UK and illegal exit from Iran;
• A social security eligibility challenge on behalf of a Slovakian national and victim of modern slavery instructed by the AIRE Centre;
• Multiple bail hearings on behalf of immigration detainees, often instructed by Bail for Immigration Detainees.

Georgie is committed to promoting access to justice through acting pro bono, particularly in the area of immigration and asylum.

Education

• Georgie has extensive experience appearing in SEND appeal hearings on behalf of both local authorities and parents on all areas of EHCPs and advises on complex issues including EOTAS provision, requests for residential placements, appeals involving 18–25-year-olds and social care and health provision.
• She regularly advises schools, local authorities, and individuals – as well as organizations including the Office of Independent Adjudicators and National Deaf Children Society - on education matters and challenges relating to school exclusions, disability discrimination claim, Pupil Referral Units and safeguarding matters.
• Prior to starting pupillage, Georgie volunteered with Communities Empowerment Network challenging school exclusions of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Court of protection

Georgie has acted in a number of long-running and complex Court of Protection proceedings on behalf of local authorities and the Official Solicitor, relating to:

• ongoing care and accommodation arrangements;
• capacity assessments;
• best interest assessments;
• urgent and standard DoLS authorisations.

Public inquiries

Georgie has been involved in two major public inquiries since starting practice:

• The Infected Blood Inquiry, where Georgie acted as Junior Counsel to Fiona Scolding KC, instructed by Leigh Day, representing 300 core participants. Georgie was responsible for drafting the chapter of the final submissions on the emotional, physical and financial impact of the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 1980s on the core participants.
• The Covid-19 Inquiry, where Georgie acts as Junior Counsel to Fiona Scolding KC representing the Department of Health.

During pupillage, Georgie assisted with the preparation of witnesses in the Residential Schools and Effective Leadership hearings of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Healthcare

Georgie regularly advises the British Medical Association and was junior counsel in a successful judicial review claim against the Health and Care Professions Council.

Georgie regularly contributes to Landmark’s Health and Social Care blog and is the co-author of the chapter on direct payments and personal health budgets in the section edition of NHS Law and Practice.

Planning

Georgie has a strong planning law practice. She has acted as sole counsel and junior counsel for local authorities and individuals at planning inquiries relating to enforcement notices, CLEU applications and large housing and industrial development proposals.

She has provided advice to developers, local authorities, and local residents on a number of varied planning issues including:

• Conversion from a Class 3 dwellinghouse to Class C4 House in Multiple Occupation under Schedule 1 Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987.
• Time limits for enforcement under section 171B Town and Country Planning Act 1990
• Soundness and deliverability of proposed Local Plans policies
• Interpretation of affordable housing policies in a London Borough’s Local Plan and the London Plan
• The prospects of an appeal against a planning inspectorate decision relating to viability and affordable housing issues.

During pupillage, Georgie drafted judicial review grounds for the Environmental Law Foundation to challenge the revocation of an Environmental Traffic Regulation Order. The grounds were later successful in the High Court (R. (Keyhole Bridge User Safety Group) v Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council [2021] EWHC 3082 (Admin)). Georgie has also undertaken advisory work for the RSPB.

Georgie developed her experience in planning law before pupillage as a judicial assistant in the Court of Appeal to Lord Justice Lindblom. During her time as a judicial assistant Georgie worked on a variety of planning cases, including:

• R. (on the application of Plan B Earth) v Secretary of State for Transport [2020] EWCA Civ 214) regarding the expansion of Heathrow Airport.
• R. (on the application of William Corbett) Respondent v Cornwall Council [2020] EWCA Civ 508) which considered whether conflict with a single policy in a local plan renders planning permission incompatible with the local plan as a whole.
• Alison Hook v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Surrey Heath Borough Council [2020] EWCA Civ 486 which considered whether an agricultural occupancy condition attached to an application for planning permission was sufficient to ensure a dwelling was not “inappropriate development” in the Green Belt.