Caroline Harry Thomas QC

09.02.2012

Barrister with an intuitive feel for the human, ethical and legal complexities of clinical negligence cases.

Caroline Harry Thomas QC was one of the most distinguished medical lawyers of her generation.

Her case, W v. M, turned out to be the most interesting and important case in her career. She was instructed by the Official Solicitor to represent the interest of M, a person in the minimally conscious state. M's family asked the court to rule that it would be in M's best interests to withdraw nutrition and hydration although that would result in her death. It was the first such application in the UK.

The case demonstrated all aspects of Harry Thomas' immense ability: her authority in court, her command of a difficult area of the law, her comprehensive knowledge of M's medical history, and her ability to deal with witnesses (the family, carers and experts) with precision, economy and tact. In the judgment delivered on September 28, 2011, the judge accepted her arguments that it was not in M's interests for nutrition and hydration to be withdrawn.

Caroline Harry Thomas was born in Carmarthen in 1957, one of the three children of David and Elizabeth Harry Thomas. She was head girl of Ellerslie School for Girls in Malvern, later merged with Malvern College, of whose council she became a member and later vice-chairman in 2007. After reading law at Exeter University and doing a stage with the European Commission in Luxembourg in 1979, she was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1981. In 1982 she became a tenant at 2 Crown Office Row, now Littleton Chambers, where she spent the whole of her career.

She developed a busy practice in family law but increasingly in clinical negligence work which, with the complex cases concerning the provision and withdrawal of medical treatment from children and adults who lack capacity, became the focus of her practice.

From the outset her understanding and feel for the legal, ethical and human issues in these very difficult cases was apparent. She was blessed with the humanity and empathy for people and for the human condition that is so important in the work for which she became renowned. She had in abundance all the necessary skills. She was compassionate but never sentimental. Unsurprisingly, her abilities were soon recognised by the Official Solicitor and by Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

She did cases about the borders of life and death. They also involved great emotion if, as often, there was disagreement between the hospital and the family. She had the great ability to make the complex arguments easy to understand for all involved.

In 2003 she was appointed a Recorder. In 2006-07 she was a member of the informal Mental Capacity Act Rules Committee which worked on the draft Court of Protection Rules. From 2007 she was a contributing author to Heywood and Massey's Court of Protection Practice. In 2008 she took Silk, and her practice blossomed.

In November 2009 her husband of 24 years, Mark Campbell, a consultant for UK Fund Management, died of cancer. His death was a blow from which, despite all her resilience, fortitude and quiet courage, she was still recovering when she was made a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 2010. She threw herself into the life of the Inn.

Her sensible approach made her a joy to work with. She was a team player, kind and generous, a good listener and a great support when support was needed. But she was also great fun to work with. All will miss her somewhat wicked sense of humour, her ready smile, and her generosity of spirit. Those she appeared against saw her as a formidable opponent, meticulous in her preparation, passionate in her advocacy. She had the trust of the bench and was highly respected by the judges. In chambers she was a great role model, who inspired respect.

She left an indelible mark in the work of medical law. She had tremendous intellectual and emotional intelligence. Her brilliance in court appeared effortless but was, of course, the result of her flawless dedication and the mastery of complicated facts and law which comes only with relentless application and hard work. She excelled in all thrings but was genuinely modest about her many achievements. Above all she displayed a deep integrity in her dealings with people, whether senior colleagues or the most junior clerk.

Caroline Harry Thomas is survived by her two daughters and her son. Her husband, Mark Campbell, predeceased her in 2009.

Caroline Harry Thomas QC, medical lawyer, was born on March 23, 1957. She died of cancer on December 21, 2011, aged 54.

Source: The Times, 9 February 2012.