Rachel Baker

Rachel Baker is an experienced advocate with a well-established reputation for excellent client care and clear, persuasive advocacy. With over two decades of experience across a broad range of jurisdictions, she brings a robust yet collaborative approach to her work and is widely recognised for her ability to guide clients through highly sensitive and complex matters with confidence and compassion.

Rachel is ranked in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for her Court of Protection work. She is regularly instructed by, amongst others, the Official Solicitor, public bodies, Deputies and family members in cases spanning the range of issues that come before the court including serious medical treatment cases, capacity disputes, and deputyship disputes.

Rachel also acts for a range of Interested Persons at inquests, including those engaging Article 2 and involving state responsibility.

Rachel has an expanding practice in mental health, education and community care law, and has been instructed on behalf of both public bodies and private individuals in such cases both for her advisory work and advocacy at hearings.

During her career, Rachel has held various paid and voluntary positions including appointment as Associate Lecturer in law for the Open University and acting as a charitable Trustee. She returned to full time practice at the Bar in 2016. Rachel’s diverse professional background, coupled with her own experience of caring for children with additional needs, enriches her understanding of the different nuances and angles in a case and the particular skills required when undertaking cases involving vulnerable individuals and their families.

Rachel is currently a Board member for a local Community Interest Company supporting parents of autistic children and young people, and within the professional sphere she has a particular interest in cases involving the interplay between autism and mental health and capacity issues.

COPPA

CPBA

ALBA

JUSTICE

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

“Capacity, decision making, and the interplay with alcohol and substance abuse” (co-authored with Anogika Souresh), October [2023] Fam Law 1202

Selected Cases for Court of Protection & Mental Health:

A Local Authority v H [2023] EWCOP 4 – acted for the local authority in a case involving fluctuating capacity, deprivation of liberty, and risk of sexual harm

Re BM – represented family members in a property and affairs case involving LPAs and safeguarding concerns raised with the OPG

Re RM – instructed by the Official Solicitor in a case concerning the best interests of an individual placed in psychiatric care aged 9

Re CG – instructed in an urgent High Court application regarding withdrawal of life-saving medical treatment

Re Hickmott – represented the NHS Foundation Trust in a case concerning an autistic man detained under the Mental Health Act for over two decades

Re GM – acted for the spouse of a young man with life-changing injuries following a serious road traffic accident

Re ZE – instructed on behalf of P in a complex mental health case concerning options for treatment of P’s eating disorder

Selected cases for Inquests:

Two-week jury inquest into the death of a young man who sustained fatal injuries shortly after release from police custody and where his mental health was not adequately assessed

Two-week jury inquest into the death of a man who suffered a heart attack weeks after receiving the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine

Three-week jury inquest into the death of a man who died in custody on the substance abuse wing, having consumed a variety of illicitly obtained drugs

Inquest into the death of a womanat home following suspected carer-neglect

Bar Vocational Course, Very Competent – College of Law (2000)

2000

Common Professional Examination (PgDL) – City University London

1999

BA (Econ), First Class Jt Honours (Politics & Social Policy) – The University of Manchester

1998

Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Scholarship (1999)

Inner Temple BVC Award (1999)

Inner Temple CPE Award (1998)