Double win at the Personal Injury Awards

Written by Mumtaz Hussain

It’s always humbling to see that our lawyers are recognised for their expertise and hard work across the many sectors we cover at our firm. In particular, our personal injury team has seen multiple successes as the team has grown both in size and reputation, and on our recent trip to Manchester we joined the other hopeful finalists at the PI Awards 2022.

To merely be recognised as a finalist and one of the best clinical negligence and catastrophic injury lawyers is delightful, and so to be shortlisted in any one of these categories is a splendid achievement, and a win is fantastic.

I’m absolutely thrilled to say that our team won twice. Not only was our team successful in being named “Clinical Negligence Team of the Year” but one of our most distinguished and experienced partners, Jenny Kennedy, won “Catastrophic Injury Lawyer of the Year”.

Prior to becoming a solicitor, Jenny went to art school and later also qualified as a psychiatric nurse. Her career in law started when she was a secretary for a clinical negligence lawyer, while also studying at night school to gain a qualification as a legal executive. She then took further exams to qualify as a solicitor, which she did in 1996 and was given partnership immediately upon qualification. Since then she has gained hug respect within the sector for her work representing clients who have sustained life changing injuries as a result of negligence by medical professionals or parties who were at fault. She has settled many multimillion pound cases and Jenny is recognised as a “Hall of Fame Lawyer” in The Legal 500 and a “Star Individual” in Chambers & Partners.

Amongst her many successes, in one particular case Jenny won what is believed to be the first settlement involving a periodic payment index-linked to a non-European country.  This was for a young woman repatriated to Brazil, who needed an adapted home and 24-hour care.

Future payments will keep pace with the local economy thus ensuring the value of her claim is retained.

Turning to our 2022 win for “Clinical Negligence Team of the Year” the judges felt that our team has earned a reputation within the sector for achieving outstanding results for clients, where we build cases that preserve the best interest of our clients during the case and on settlement.

Partner Dr Jock Mackenzie, dual qualified solicitor advocate and doctor, recently settled a case involving a complex medical misdiagnosis as well as complex legal arguments. Partner and former nurse, Ali Malsher has a complex ongoing case involving a failure to diagnose an aneurism.

We are ranked in Chambers and Legal 500.  Dr Jock Mackenzie is Band 1 in Chambers and Partners, Jenny Kennedy and Jon Nicholson are Band 2 and Ali Malsher Band 4. Jenny and Jon are both “Hall of Fame” solicitors in The Legal 500. The editorial comments in both directories describe how highly our team is regarded by our peers and colleagues.

Our team’s contribution to the wider community was also a factor in the judges’ decision. We are active members of AvMA, APIL and are members of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel.  Ali Malsher is a former secretary to the APIL Clinical Negligence special interest group.  Dr Jock Mackenzie regularly speaks at the Bond Solon Annual Expert Witness conference, and Partner Jackie Spinks joined him at their 2022 conference.  They are both also expert witness trainers as is Partner Amanda Hopkins and Senior Associate Amy Wedgwood.

Our partners edit and contribute to professional journals.  We have written or co-authored several leading books including:  Medical Records for Lawyers (Ali Malsher); APIL Guide to Costs and Funding (David Marshall); APIL Clinical Negligence 2^nd Edition (David Marshall and Jon Nicholson, Co-Authors). Partner Samuel David is a regular contributor to Kemp and Kemp.

Outside of Clinical Negligence we are an active team. Amy Wedgwood is a former Chair of the Association of Women Solicitors. Business Development Manager Mumtaz Hussain is a non-practising solicitor and Immediate Past President of Surrey Law Society.

We work together as a team to be the best solicitors we can be so that our ultimate objective of delivering the best possible service to our clients is achieved.

Our heartiest congratulations go to Jenny, and everyone in our clinical negligence team, and to all of the other winners and finalists at the 2022 PI Awards.