LC.N TCPH 2020

Personal injury

Personal injury (PI) law falls under the law of tort. It involves civil law cases brought to obtain compensation for injuries sustained, to restore the injured person to the position they would have been in had the injury not happened. The subject matter varies considerably and can range from controversial, high- profile disasters to road traffic accidents to health and safety cases. A related specialised practice area of PI law is clinical negligence, which involves injuries suffered during medical procedures. With almost 25 years’ experience in the Irwin Mitchell PI team, Francesca Mayes has witnessed many changes both in the field and at the firm. “When I was a trainee, I did not even have a computer,” she laughs, “and I shared a telephone! Not only do I have a computer now, I have two screens.” Besides advancements in technology, the world of PI is also experiencing a great deal of legal reform. “Anyone interested in PI should be aware of the upcoming changes to the discount rate – particularly for catastrophic injury claims – and the fixed cost reform,” she advises. “I think those are the two key issues at the moment.” Yet against this evolving backdrop, one thing has remained constant: her passion for the role. “I knew early on that I wanted to do PI work,” she recalls. “The Irwin Mitchell training contract was appealing because it offered the opportunity to do lots of different things. I did PI work, medical negligence work, commercial litigation and corporate. After that, I knew I had made the right decision.” The structure of the training contract was not the only thing that drew Fran to the firm. “I remember meeting the graduate recruitment team and instantly connecting with them,” she reminisces. “I thought ‘that is the sort of firm I want to work for!’” And after all these

years, her reasons for staying are clear. “In my eyes, it is the best firm in the country for the work that I do,” she states. “I have been able to pursue all my career ambitions here. There has been no reason for me to go anywhere else.” Indeed, these ambitions have led Fran on a dazzling journey from trainee to lead partner of the PI and medical negligence teams in Newcastle – an office which she established with a colleague 16 years ago, before making associate. It comes as no surprise, then, that her day-to-day role has changed considerably over time. “As a trainee, you have to work very hard on time-consuming tasks,” she admits. “As a partner, I have more responsibility for supervising others and dealing with work at a higher level.” With so many tasks to focus on, Fran has three key tips for managing a busy workload: “You have to keep a well-organised diary and be able to delegate, and you also have to support the people on your team, so that they can develop their skills and in turn support you and the business.” Fighting the good fight Supporting people is at the heart of her practice. “I specialise in PI work on behalf of individuals who have been injured in different types of accident, where they have sustained a serious brain or spinal cord injury,” she explains. “Their lives have been completely changed by their accident and it is my role, together with my team, to pursue their claims for compensation. As part of that, we help people to rebuild their lives.” For Fran, helping those in need is the most rewarding aspect of her role. “Helping people in the way that I do and being able to form close working relationships with them is the thing that really excites me about my work,” she continues. “We fight very hard to get people’s payments at an early stage. This way, we can put a comprehensive

For more firms that work in this practice area, please use the “Training contract regional indexes” starting on p205.

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