William Ford

Head of Housing and Social Care

William is a highly experienced housing and public law solicitor who is committed to achieving great results for his clients. He is the head of the Housing and Social Care team at Osbornes.

Willilam regularly brings challenges against public bodies in the High Court by way of Judicial Review. He often acts in cases where clients are extremely vulnerable, as well as in cases involving significant legal complexity. As well as brining claims on behalf of individuals he also has experience of pursuing strategic litigation where cases involves issues of wider public importance.

William specialises in in housing, public law, welfare benefits and community care law. His achievements include the following:

• Named as a leading partner for public law and in the “hall of fame” for housing in the Legal 500 directory.
• Ranked in Band 1 for Housing and Band 3 in public law in the Chambers and Partners directory
• Winner of the Legal Aid Lawyer of the year in the Social Welfare Law category in 2019, and a finalist in 2016 for Legal Aid Lawyer of the year in the category of Children’s rights.
• Involvement in numerous reported cases in the higher courts involving significant cases

William’s areas of specialism:

Housing law

William undertakes all types of housing work. He specialises in homelessness cases, regularly bringing judicial review challenges in the High Court, or homelessness appeals in the County Court. William also has considerable experience in landlord and tenant disputes, including defending possession claims, bringing disrepair claims, or representing tenants who have been unlawfully evicted. He has a particular interest in cases where there is an overlap between immigration and housing law and regularly represents clients who have been found to be ineligible for housing assistance due to their immigration status.

Public Law

William specialises in public law and has experience of bringing judicial review claims against local authorities and a range of government bodies, including the Home Office, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Lord Chancellor. He regularly deals with cases involving the unsuitability of Home Office accommodation or issues with the provision of asylum support. He has a particular interest in cases with an EU law or immigration element, and where support is being refused to an individual as a result of their immigration status.

Welfare Benefits

William is one of the few solicitors with knowledge and experience of dealing with Welfare Benefits cases. This is an area where legal aid funding has been substantially reduced. However, William has expertise in obtaining exceptional case funding in appropriate cases where legal aid would otherwise be out of scope, as well as doing work that remains in scope for legal aid. He has been involved in numerous test cases, pushing the boundaries of the law. Willam was also successful in bringing a judicial review claim against the Lord Chancellor, challenging the legal aid payment provisions for legal aid providers doing Welfare Benefits work, with a view to expanding access to justice.

Community Care

William is also a community care specialist, with expertise in cases involving the rights of children and care leavers under the Children Act 1989. He also deals with cases involving adult social services to ensure that clients with disabilities receive the care and support to which they are legally entitled.

William is a member of the executive of the Housing Lawyers Practitioners Association (HLPA). He also represents client on the duty advocate scheme at the County Court at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch. William is also frequently invited to speak at training sessions and conferences.
William joined Osbornes as a trainee in 2004, qualified as a solicitor in 2006, and was made a partner at the firm in 2016.