Welcome

One of the reasons that I decided to set up this law firm was because I really wanted to concentrate on delivering a very personal service to my clients and also to deal with problematic legal issues. In the dim and distant past I practised criminal law and took three cases to the Court of Appeal.
One of those cases went on to the House of Lords and then to the European Court of Human Rights. The case revolved around legislation that dealt with the Police's ability to tap private telephones. I spotted what I believed was a flaw in Police procedure relating to the use of telephone tapping. I have to say I had a hard time convincing my barrister colleagues of the argument to start with, but once we all committed to the case it seemed obvious. Ultimately the European Court ruled in our favour.The case lead to a re writing of statute and new procedures being implemented by the authorities.
I now find that I now have another case where I believe the current law is being interpreted by others in a way that disadvantages my client. It is not a criminal case this time. It is probably going to be a long and bitter legal wrangle. But my client believes that something should be done and I believe that there are strong arguments in favour of a successful case.
That is what I really enjoy about being a solicitor. Looking at the law and really understanding it's meaning and it's deficiencies. Looking at how other areas of law and the law of other countries may be relevant and inviting the Court, and if necessary Parliament, to rectify situations, which if looked at by the ordinary person in the street, are clearly wrong.
Maybe this time next year I will be able to tell you what the case is all about and how it went. At the moment the first formal letters are about to be exchanged, after which long hours will be spent pouring over the detail of documents. Law isn't always exciting but it is interesting and greatly rewarding. Watch this space.
In the meantime if you want to know more about compensation claims following an accident at work have a look at our new web site Workplace Compensation Experts

In the last two weeks I have been lucky enough to have been able to attend the conferences of the Associtaion of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Claims Standards Council. I always find conferences of this type informative. The huge amount of change in personal injury law and procedure never seems to let up. To that extent it always refreshing to meet with colleagues in other solicitors firms and to discuss the challenges that face us all.
It is also helpful to discuss issues with those who provide support services to solicitors dealing with personal injury cases in order to establish what support products, such as after the event insurance and rehabilitation services, are going to best suit my client's needs.
It is also an opportunity to listen to representatives of Government and of regulatory bodies to see how they are approaching the changes that are being and still need to be implemented.
What has really bothered me over the last year has been an increased focus on "systems", "commodotised personal injury claims" and other words that take the personal out of personal injury. I accept that there is a huge need for reform if we are to deliver law in cost effective manners. I just hope that we do not put cost before clients and go too far in the opposite direction from which we have come.
On a positive note is always good to be in the company of so many people who are committed to recovering compensation on behalf of those who have been injured through no fault of their own.

Well, almost a year has passed since we set up the new firm. All is going well. In fact I can hardly believe that a year has passed so quickly. I suppose that is probably because we found ourselves being far busier than we expected. In one way I am not complaining about that, but there is a down side. Every case that I take on means that another family is being affected by the scandalous legacy of the use of asbestos in this country.
Barnsley didn't make the FA Cup final. As you will know I am a Blades fan, but my loyalties were very much with the red side of Wembley yesterday. It must be disappointing for the players to go out of the cup when they are so close, but I love football and would have dearly loved to have emulated their success by playing in front of eighty thousand players at Wembley.So in some respects they have everything to be proud about.
As for the Blades it seems that some are still hopeful of a last minute push for the playoff places. Well, why not? Come on you Blades!!!

When I started this blog I said that it would prove to be a valuable source of information about things that I do and don't like. Honesty is something that I am a real advocate of.
Archie had been in the kitchen for a couple of minutes this morning. He was just in our line of sight. We could hear him laughing and see that the dog was with him. He had his back to us so we couldn't quite make out what he was doing. But it all seemed like great fun.
He came back into the house just as I was walking into the kitchen. We have a slate floor and it was absolutely soaked. Propped up against the kitchen units, it's head still in the dogs water bowl, was his toy mop.
Just as I was surveying the disaster that lay before me a little hand grabbed the side of my trouser leg. I looked down at a beaming face and heard the words "Archie did that" as he pointed at the floor.
Now I know that the evidence was perhaps overwhelming but I suppose he did have the opportunity of blaming the dog! If only everyone in life was as honest as a child!!
Well, tomorrow is the first league game since the return of Kevin Blackwell to the Lane. Great expectations. Watch this space.

Last time I blogged I was looking forward to seeing my son's face as he openend his Christmas presents. Actually, he opened one and that was it. It took about three days for him to get round to the rest. A little wooden car and caravan kept him so happy. Now we can't pass a caravan without a cry of excitement while he tells us that he has a caravan too.
On my return to work I was saddened to hear that a client had passed away during the Christmas period. My own father died a couple of days before Christmas in 2000. There can never be an easy time to lose someone but Christmas seems to be such a poignant time. Sadly, part of dealing with the cases that I deal with is that I regularly face the reality of death. Losing a client that I have met, talked to and developed a relationship with is always sad. But there is also the reward of assisting those that are left behind and making sure that those who are dependant remain finacially secure. In this way I feel that I have somehow added to comfort to the final days of my client.
There is of course little comfort coming out of Bramall Lane. Losing to The Owls last weekend was something of a disappointment, particularly with having to face Martin on Monday morning. It is such a shame to see that things aren't quite right both on and off the pitch there at the moment. Lets hope for a better second half of the season.

Well, as they say, doesn't time fly when you are having fun?
Well not so much fun as hard work. One of my long held beliefs is that the law is going out of personal injury claims in the vast majority of cases. The way that the whole system is being moulded at the moment caused me to believe that there must be a great number of people who are being lead to believe that they do not have a valid claim for compensation when in fact they do. It is simply that the systems set up to deal with personal injury cases only deal with the obvious when it comes to legal issues.
We now have over 250 cases that we have taken on when the case has already been rejecetd by other solicitors for one reason or another. Of course those other solicitors are quite entitled to accept only cases that they are absolutely sure that they can win. Why should anyone take a risk with a case that involves difficult legal and/or medical issues?
Clients. That's why. In an age where clients have become consumers and choice and service the key to everything I believe that there is evidence emerging of a more risk averse legal profession, which can not be good for consumers. Let's hope it is a blip and that eventually all firms will enjoy dealing with more complex issues and feel the satifaction that we feel here.
Well I'm off for a weekend of Christmas shopping now. I can't wait to see Archie's face on Christmas Day this year.

I don't usually deal with case specifics in my blog. In a way I am doing so now. But today's decision by the House of Lords to deny compensation to sufferers of the asbestos related illness, pleural plaques disappoints me. What really troubles me is the application of policy to legal decisions. In my view it does not have a place in law. But more frequently we are seeing the law being influenced by policy and politics. Part of the decision in today's case follows case law set down in psychiatric illness cases. Those cases were, quite openly, decided as a matter of policy to prevent the claims floodgates from opening.
If you don't know, pleural plaques are a benign plaque that form on the inside of the lung. They very rarely cause any symptoms. This, says the House of Lords, is the reason that you can not claim. Compensation is for injury and if your only injury is a plaque that can not be seen and does not cause injury then you can not be compensated. Further more the worry caused by having the plaques does not amount to a compensatable illness, even if it amounts to a recogniseable psychiatric illness, because the current law on stress does not allow it.
I think all of this underplays the anxiety suffered by those with pleural plaques. Whether those people can physically see the scars, they know that they have them because they have been seen on x-ray. They then know that they have been exposed to asbestos and that asbestos can cause other illnesses. 3500 people per year die from asbestos related illnesses.In fact it is the single biggest cause of work related death in the country I think that is a real worry and the House of Lords have trivialised the very genuine concern felt by these people.
There was no disagreement by the defendants that the workers had been exposed to asbestos in circumstances which were negligent.In other words the employers knew or should have known that the workers should not have been exposed to asbestos. But this, apparently, does not matter.
Their Lordships have not closed all of the gates in pleural plaque litigation. Those suffering symptoms can still claim and there are avenues of contract law that remain to be explored. I, for one, will be doing exactly that.