Following its merger with BLM, Clyde & Co houses an impressive catastrophic injury practice group in the South East, handling a broad range of high value and critical defendant-side mandates. Andrew Hibbert leads the catastrophic injury subject matter groups and specialises in brain and spinal injury, amputations and fatal accident cases. He is supported by legal director Gus Peake on high-value claims - the pair received praise as 'two top notch defendant professionals'. The 'hugely experienced' Joe Wakeford heads the Southampton office, with his expertise including motor accidents and clinical negligence. Clare Garnett 's niche practice focuses on the equestrian and livestock markets. Stephanie Atkinson is another important point of contact: she is well-known for handling both complex liability and quantum catastrophic injury cases.
Personal injury: defendant in South East
Clyde & Co
Practice head(s):
Andrew Hibbert; Joe Wakeford; Clare Garnett; Stephanie Atkinson
Other key lawyers:
Gemma Parker; Gus Peake; Stephanie Tracey; Liz Hayward
Testimonials
‘Clyde & Co recently merged with BLM and in doing so gained an entire new team of very experienced insurance lawyers essentially doubling their talent pool.’
‘Andrew Hibbert and Gus Peake are two top notch defendant professionals. Andy in particular has the ear of most of the top claimant lawyers and as such can cut through any impasse with a phone call.’
‘Joe Wakeford and his team are superb. Excellent understanding of the law and invariable a sensible and business minded approach is adopted. Joe is hugely experienced and it is a pleasure to be instructed by his team. They are always responsive and proactive.’
Key clients
Direct Line Group
Allianz UK Plc
Hastings Direct
Liverpool Victoria
MIB
QBE
Ecclesiastical
Certo/Interhannover
Travelers
Markel International
Aviva
Liberty
Kennedys
Kennedys' personal injury offering in the South East continues to retain its strong market presence, representing major medical insurers, brokers and public bodies on a full-suite of complex work. Managing partner of the Chelmsford office Jennifer Harris leads the team, which includes liability division head Richard West. The pair are described as ‘well respected throughout the industry, well connected with superb legal knowledge and experience’. Joy Middleton is another important port of call within the group for multi-track claims.
Practice head(s):
Jennifer Harris
Other key lawyers:
Richard West; Joy Middleton; Kathryn Oldfield
Testimonials
‘Universally excellent. The team are intelligent, responsive and sensible.’
‘Kathryn Oldfield is hugely experienced and always adopts a sensible and pragmatic approach. Has an excellent relationship with insurers; a legally and commercially astute and excellent partner.’
‘A firm which has recruited well so as to strengthen their teams and meet their clients’ needs.’
Key clients
Aviva
Gallagher Bassett
World Rugby
Harrods
Stannah Lift Services
First Group
Chubb
Brit Insurance
Liberty Mutual
Sompo International
Markel International
Riverstone
New India Assurance
HDI Global
QBE
IGI
China Taiping
Keoghs LLP
Keoghs LLP's complex and catastrophic loss team handles significant motor accident cases and has particular expertise when it comes to defending Ministry of Defence claims. Matthew Perkins heads up the Southampton-based practice, representing major insurers on motor accident claims. The 'extremely dependable and knowledgeable' Paul Baxter also comes recommended for liability claims, particularly motor. Matthew Burfield is another important name to note within the department.
Practice head(s):
Matthew Perkins
Other key lawyers:
Paul Baxter; Catherine Kober; Matthew Burfield; Andrew Williamson; Ben Smoker; Emily Eastwood
Testimonials
‘A growing presence, recruiting knowledgeable specialists in their areas with a view to delivering excellent levels of client engagement, and a high level of quality in technical representation and the management of claims.’
‘Catherine Kober is excellent in her field: strong interpersonal skills, highly knowledgeable and benefitting from good levels of support internally at Keoghs, enabling her to deliver a first rate service to clients.’
‘Paul Baxter is an asset to us in dealing with defence matters, extremely dependable and knowledgeable on complex indemnity issues in particular.’
Key clients
esure
Motor Insurers’ Bureau
LV=
Allianz
Mulsanne
Indemnis
Zurich
ERS
Faraday insurance
Trethowans LLP
Trethowans LLP has the bandwidth to act on a broad range of cases, including particular niche expertise when it comes to foreign and animal claims, alongside representing both domestic and European insurers in relation to defendant personal injury work. Team leader Kelvin Farmaner is known for his 'impressive caseload of high value and complex cases ranging from agricultural accidents, to cross-border road traffic claims and uninsured construction site accidents'. Partner Bethany Blamire focuses her practice on road traffic accidents and high value liability cases.
Practice head(s):
Kelvin Farmaner
Other key lawyers:
Bethany Blamire
Testimonials
‘The strength of the team at Trethowans, which is no longer the norm in many firms, is that all members have experience of dealing with a the whole range of defendant insurer work, from road traffic collisions and occupiers liability cases, to cross-border claims and complex work site accidents.’
‘Bethany Blamire delivers better results for her clients than anyone I have worked with in the last 20 years. The secret to her success is that she is two steps ahead of everyone else in each case. She achieves this through meticulous preparation and planning, and endless hard work. She anticipates what the opposition will do before they even know they are going to do it. Bethany is generous and thoughtful in dealings with people from all walks of life, which inspires confidence in her that is of immeasurable benefit when interviewing insured persons and witnesses.’
‘Kelvin Farmaner takes in his stride an impressive caseload of high value and complex cases ranging from agricultural accidents, to cross-border road traffic claims and uninsured construction site accidents. Kelvin is able to draw on his extensive experience as a solicitor advocate to realistically advise clients of the risks and benefits involved at all stages of court proceedings.’
Key clients
Van Ameyde UK Ltd
Cornish Mutual Assurance Co Ltd
Go Ahead Group
RSPCA
Saint Gobain Building Distribution Ltd
Appleby Westward Group Ltd
Flyct B.V.
Jewson Ltd
Farm and General Insurance Ltd
Arch Insurance
Work highlights
- Advised on a £10.5 million spinal injury claim arising out of a farming accident. The matter settled at £5 million after a large amount of work to obtain expert evidence and with the Claimant accepting a degree of contributory negligence.
- Advising a foreign insurer in relation to a cross border claim arising from an accident in Italy. After over 6 years of litigation the claim against our client was discontinued with an order that the client’s costs be paid.
- Successfully defending a claim at trial. A large claim was brought against a tractor driver by an injured party who said the tractor spooked her horse leading to her sustaining serious injuries.
Mayo Wynne Baxter Solicitors
Mayo Wynne Baxter Solicitors has a strong track record for representing local authorities, emergency services and utility companies in the South East region, with demonstrable know-how in the travel sector specifically. 'Intellectual heavyweight' Lee Hills leads the team out of Brighton and is a go-to name for international personal injury claims.
Practice head(s):
Lee Hills
Testimonials
‘A highly respected team of defendant lawyers with unparalleled knowledge of the interplay between insurance and substantive legal issues. their use of technology is very strong and they are very popular with a broad spectrum of the defendant tour operator market’
‘Lee Hills, partner, is commercially savvy, and an intellectual heavyweight. He is often the first choice for tour operators and insurers in a range of claims, including catastrophic injury and complex package travel disputes.’
‘I have used Lee Hills at MWB for a number of years now. I have always found him knowledgable and trustworthy on our Tour Operator Liability cases.’