Name: Nimmisha Aslam Firm: Russell-Cooke Solicitors Location: London University: University of Birmingham Degree: Law and business studies
“I am concerned that clients who have lower value negligence cases will not be able to get access to justice.” With no answers just yet and a government review underway, it remains to be seen what impact these changes might have. Overall, Nimmisha is keen to acknowledge that she is lucky to have fallen into an area of the law that she really enjoys. “There isn’t anything routine about my work, so I never get bored,” she says. But in hindsight, she recommends that students thinking about their own legal career should do some thorough research. “A career as a solicitor is a lengthy one, so spend some time doing the background work to establish what area of law you want to specialise in. It’s important to enjoy what you do. I ammotivated and passionate about my work every day, and I don’t take that for granted.”
accustomed to dealing with clients who have suffered trauma. This is the crux of the work we do. However, very rarely have I acted for a group of clients who have suffered a tragedy which profoundly affects nearly every aspect of their daily lives.” A career as a solicitor is a lengthy one, so spend some time doing the background work to establish what area of law you want to specialise in. It’s important to enjoy what you do Changes on the horizon In recent months, the coronavirus pandemic has seen Nimmisha’s work evolve, with court deadlines and hearings being moved online. She explains that she was involved in virtual hearings at the Supreme Court earlier in the year, and that her colleague recently participated in the first High Court clinical negligence trial to take place remotely. “It will be interesting to see how this will work moving forward,” she says, musing if this might be a long-term innovation within the justice system. “Virtual hearings can be easier to arrange than physical ones, and can save in costs.” Aside from an increasingly digital workload, Nimmisha also describes the disruption that could come from the government’s planned reforms for fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence cases. “If the government brings in fixed costs, this could make a huge difference to how our cases are run in the future.” She explains that clinical negligence cases can be expensive as they often involve paying experts for reports. If firms aren’t confident they can recover their reasonable costs and expenses as they currently do, they may be less likely to take these kinds of cases. “Where will that leave our clients?” she asks.
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