London, United Kingdom
After gaining a First Class degree in Ancient History and post-graduate qualifications in Roman History, Ms Godwin worked in publishing as editor on the Classics list at Oxford University Press. She was called to the Bar in July 2005 as a member of the Honourable Society of Greys Inn. She was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 2008.
Interests include reading, music, singing, salsa, gardening, cooking and tai chi. Georga is also a children's author.
Ms Godwin has advised in the fields of debt, housing, public law, and family law, as well as mental health and capacity law. She is an experienced human rights advocate representing both civil and forensic mentally disordered clients in court and before the First-tier Tribunal Mental Health.
She also has experience in Judicial Review proceedings arising out of mental health matters, in particular, the funding for aftercare provision.
Georga is a member of the Law Society's Mental Health Review Tribunal Accreditation Scheme Panel and a member of the Mental Health Lawyers Association. Other memberships include The Bar Council of England & Wales; The Law Society's Mental Health Accreditation Scheme and The Honourable Society of Grey's Inn.
Georga is also a lecturer with the Centre for Applied Mental Health Law, Oxford, where she teaches Human Rights Law and MHT procedure.
University
1992 - 1995
1st Class BA Honours Degree Ancient History
University
1995 - 1996
Diploma (now M. St.) Jewish Studies
University
2003 - 2004
Graduate Diploma, Law
Other
2004 - 2005
Very Competent, Bar Vocational Course
Other
2005 - 2005
Postgraduate Diploma Professional Legal Skills
Georga Godwin, from national law firm Scott-Moncrieff, represents clients with serious mental health issues and their families. She says her clients are victims of a vicious circle of under-funding. She says: “The Government claiming that social efforts are more important than providing extra money for services is simply wrong. The NHS mental health offer is drastically under-funded and it suffers the vicious circle, knock-on effect of the rest of the NHS being under-funded, too.
“For example, Scott-Moncrieff has clients that have been discharged from section who agree to stay in hospital until appropriate after-care is available but who are then discharged by the hospital because their bed is needed for non-mental health care. They then end up back in hospital because of the appalling situation they find themselves in in the community, because they were discharged before a care regime was set up.
“While a ‘social effort’ with employers, schools and the like will help, that is not the primary issue. It is the lack of care, beds and planning that goes into mental health patients’ issues and at the heart of this is funding.”
2016