Currently in Scotland it is very difficult to get a Mental Health lawyer in your area in Scotland. There are very few law firms practising in mental health law and those mental health lawyers are poor at best. It is partly a problem with SLAB who can refuse to take on a client. The only reason a lawyer from the SLAB list should be able to refuse you as a client is "Conflict of Interest". The problem is so acute in Scotland that people have to do Tribunals without legal expertise. The proposal is to make all employment lawyers involve themselves in mental health tribunals and mental health law. This would lead to better trained mental health lawyers and more employment rights such as adjustment under the Disability Discrimination Act being taken up so that mental health patients dont lose their jobs or end up in poverty. It would widen the pool of expertise and it could be extended to Human Rights lawyers and insurance lawyers too.
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