There’s no denying 2021 has been full of ups and downs. But as another turbulent year draws to a close, we’d like to take the time to reflect on what the team at Medical Solicitors has achieved as one of the UK’s niche medico-legal firms.
Lexcel reaccreditation proves we continue to go above and beyond for clients
Our main focus at Medical Solicitors has always been to deliver exceptional standards of client care. Too often, people affected by medical negligence lose faith in what can sometimes be a cold and clinical area of law.
We’re proud to offer a wraparound service that treats each client as a person rather than a case note, giving them the undivided attention, guidance and representation needed at what is often one of their most vulnerable times of their lives.
This year, we have continued to operate with a hybrid approach of remote and in-office working. Staff have adapted well to this flexibility which has ensured any changes to our service have been as seamless as possible.
In June, we passed the Lexcel reaccreditation process with flying colours. This is the Law Society's quality mark for client care, compliance and practice management and looks at how well a law firm manages client care, people within the company, risk, finances, information, and files and cases. The assessor commented that she had never seen a firm managed as comprehensively as ours within her lengthy career.
New Hull office opens to complete Yorkshire triangle
In a survey by legal insurers ARAG, almost two-thirds of clinical negligence solicitors have seen a reduction in enquiries since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. However, we seem to be in the third that has bucked the trend against the odds. Similar to last year, in 2021 we have continued to receive a growing number of enquiries from would-be claimants.
To meet the increasing demand for our niche medico-legal services, in September we opened a third office in Yorkshire, this time at The Deep Business Centre in Hull. This follows the launch of the York office at the end of 2020.
Medical Solicitors is a family-run practice based in Yorkshire but location isn’t always important. We have worked with clients throughout the country as far away as Guernsey and the rest of the Channel Islands to successfully settle clinical negligence claims.
Read more about our expansion into Hull, East Yorkshire here.
Caroline Moore, director of Medical Solicitors, officially opened the Hull office, based at The Deep Business Centre, in September with Simon Wilson
New staff join the team
Since the beginning of 2021, Medical Solicitors has welcomed a host of Yorkshire-based clinical negligence solicitors and litigation assistants on board as part of our expansion programme.
Lyndsey Taylor joined the York branch of Medical Solicitors in April and Simon Wilson was appointed in September to lead the Hull office; both are already broadening our involvement in the East and North Yorkshire communities.
Trainee solicitor Kelly Hunt, who joined the Sheffield office in January, is now handling her own case files having gained her law degree from the Open University this summer.
In November we also welcomed Katie Gill, our new head of HR and compliance who will further aid our mission to retain the high level of management, compliance and client care that the Lexcel accreditor commended us on.
The senior team is supported by litigation assistants Chanel, Gita, Natasha, Nadia and Casey, all of whom joined Medical Solicitors in 2021.
Find out more about our experienced clinical negligence team here.
Who and what we’ve supported in 2021
Throughout the year we have donated to various causes, from grassroots sport to education and local charities.
Some of our charitable works include:
- Taking part in the York and Sheffield Legal Walks in June where we raised £328.00 for the Yorkshire Legal Support Trust, the regional arm of the Access to Justice Foundation.
- We donated £1,500 to the University of Sheffield scholarship programme to help open up further education at our local Russell Group university to talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Funds we donated paid for a new waterproof poolside platform for Sheffield Diving Club to improve lessons and training for progression squads for decades to come.
- Matthew Brown ran the Sheffield Half Marathon and raised £480 for St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield which gave brilliant palliative care to his late Grandma 15 years ago.
- The team supported Sonia Parkes’ daughter Jessica who did a skydive in memory of her nan for which she raised over £1,100 for Rotherham Hospice.
- For the 2022 season, Medical Solicitors pledged £500 sponsorship to the girls’ section at Cottingham Cricket Club where Simon has been a member for many years.
Just some of the good causes our team has supported in 2021
What will we do differently in 2022?
As the end of another year brings a time for evaluation, we have decided to make a change to how we give moving into 2022.
From now on, rather than affiliate with a specific charity, hospice or medical research centre, Medical Solicitors will donate a set percentage of profits to Cool Earth, a charity which works with inhabitants of rainforests to tackle the various causes of deforestation.
After all, there will be no hospitals, hospices, or medical research facilities if humanity can no longer survive on planet earth! The climate crisis is a pressing issue which affects all of us and we have a corporate responsibility to help make a change.
We’ll still continue to honour individual requests from members of the team or associated business and clients who are fundraising, but from now on Cool Earth will be our charity of choice.
Read more about our pledge to support Cool Earth here.
All at Medical Solicitors would like to wish you a very happy and healthy 2022.