William Ford

William is an experienced housing and public law solicitor who is committed to achieving great results for his clients. He often acts in cases where clients are extremely vulnerable and require action to be taken at very short notice. He takes a practical approach to cases from the outset and believes in the importance of providing clear and concise advice to his clients at all stages of litigation.

• Specialist in housing, community care, welfare benefits and public law
• Named as a leading individual in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners directories
• A finalist in 2016 for Legal Aid Lawyer of the year in the category of Children’s rights

William undertakes all types of housing work. He specialises in landlord and tenant cases, as well as having knowledge of trust of land disputes. He has particular expertise in assisting those facing homelessness or eviction from their home, as well as housing disrepair (acting for tenants, leaseholders, and landlords) and Judicial Review claims involving housing law.

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.

Additionally William specialises in public law as well as having considerable experience and knowledge of cases concerning welfare benefits. He has experience in bringing judicial review claims against local authorities and other public bodies and is committed to acting for extremely vulnerable children or adult clients with specialist needs. He has a particular interest in cases with an EU law or immigration element, often where these issues overlap in cases concerning housing, community care or welfare benefits entitlement.

William also works to identify  strategic litigation challenges with a view to positively changing the law in appropriate cases.

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 joined Osbornes as a trainee in 2004, qualified as a solicitor in 2006, and was made a partner at the firm in 2016.