Salma Kantharia
Head of Service - Community Care and Litigation

Salma is Head of the Community Care and Litigation team. She qualified as a lawyer in early 2009 and has spent her entire legal career working for public sector clients, both in house and in the private sector.

The range of experience that Salma has gained offers her an exceptional level of understanding and expertise for the diverse range of Pathfinder Legal Services Ltd clients.

She has a keen understanding of the issues many organisations in the public sector are now facing from both an operational and strategic level and is comfortable advising Directors, Senior Managers and Officers.

She does not see herself as an external lawyer more as an integral and trusted member of your team looking to achieve the best outcome for you. Her advice is holistic and in depth to ensure that, as a public sector service, your wider statutory obligations are always considered as a part of any legal support you receive.

Memberships and Interests

Independently trains in all aspects of community care (with particular interest in ‘no recourse to public funds’, ‘unaccompanied asylum seeking children’ and ‘appeal rights exhausted’ cases).

Salma and colleagues in her service area have been involved with the following notable cases/matters:

• Supporting the local authority’s social services and Safeguarding Adults Board in relation to failures by a care provider, May 2023: https://www.cqc.org.uk/press-release/amicura-limited-ordered-pay-ps200181-after-failing-provide-safe-care-and-treatment
• Judicial review by a school against OFSTED’s decision re the school’s overall rating, May 2023: http s://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/53733-school-set-to-take-ofsted-to-court-over-inspection
• SA, Re (Declaration of Non-Recognition of Marriage) [2023] EWCA Civ 1003. This landmark judgment by the Court of Appeal, considered the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction to grant a declaration of non-recognition of a marriage that took place abroad.  The subject to the proceedings was a young female adult who was assessed to lacked capacity.  The appeal against the declaration was dismissed and the judgment considered issues including:
  • (i) the application of declarations under the inherent jurisdiction or statute;
  • (ii) forced marriage cases; and
  • (iii) capacity issues.

A link to the full judgment can be found here: SA, Re (Declaration of Non-Recognition of Marriage) [2023] EWCA Civ 1003 (30 August 2023) (bailii.org)

• R (CXF) v Central Bedfordshire Council [2018] EWCA Civ 2852. A mother that drove weekly to accompany her son on escorted community leave bus trips sought judicial review of the Council’s refusal to fund her travel costs under MHA 1983 s117 when he turned 18.
• A CCG & Anor v MN and Others [2013] EWHC 3859 COP. The Court of Protection could make a decision based on the options that were available to a person that did not have mental capacity, the same as if that person did have the mental capacity to make their own choice.
• A NHS Trust v DE [2013] EWHC 2562. A NHS Trust applied for an order under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 that a 37 year old should have a vasectomy in his best interests, even though he lacked the capacity to give consent to the procedure.