Hudgell Solicitors

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer

Rachel joined Hudgell Solicitors as Chief Executive in 2020 and has successfully overseen the expansion of the firm’s legal teams in both the Hull and Manchester city centre offices, enhancing her established record of business development and executing transformational growth.

During her time with the firm its clinical negligence, personal injury and serious injury teams have been strengthened in both depth of expertise and with an increased number of associates. The firm has also been listed in The Times 200 Best Law Firms for consecutive years.

Rachel has also cemented the firm’s national reputation for awarding winning customer experience and continues to support and prioritise client services through a period of fixed-costs reforms and implementing and developing a change-strategy.

Having joined Minster Law to lead its Catastrophic Injury Team in York, Rachel went on to run the firm’s serious injury teams across offices in London, Wakefield and York as Head of Serious Injury prior to her appointment to the Board of Directors in 2018.

Rachel started her career at Irwin Mitchell in Leeds in 1998, initially working in the motor claims team, overseeing a volume caseload of road traffic accident cases up to a value of £150,000.

Initially commencing her legal training whilst working via the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, Rachel decided to pursue qualification as a Solicitor, returning to college whilst working full time.  She undertook a part-time study training contract alongside her work and was the first ever member of Irwin Mitchell to be appointed to the role of Associate whilst still a trainee.

Rachel went on to specialise in catastrophic and industrial accident work for the majority of her fee-earning career, running and supervising neuro trauma and serious orthopaedic/amputee cases of the utmost severity, with her own cases settling for damages reaching £10million.

During this time she also developed an expertise in chronic pain cases. Heading up the workplace accident team in Newcastle, Rachel developed an expertise in supporting migrant workers who had sustained catastrophic injuries during the course of their employment.

During her career, which has also included time at Alexanders Solicitors in Wetherby, Rachel has also undertaken a mix of clinical negligence, industrial accident, child abuse and broader civil litigation work.

She has undertaken a number of business wide leadership roles alongside her fee earning work to develop new areas of business for her firms. She has hosted and spoken at a number of internal and external seminars and been a guest speaker and panel member for the Insurance Post and Modern Claims.

During her last year at Minster Law she also held the position of Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, a position she has also taken on at Hudgell Solicitors.

Career Highlights

Hudgell Solicitors represents more than 150 injured survivors of the 2017 Manchester Arena Bombing, people who were left with serious, life-long physical and psychological injuries.

Many struggled to access long-term NHS treatment and we recognised they were going to be left without vital assistance, so it was a huge privilege to lead a team to find solutions.

We approached a number of specialists in rehabilitation and finance – urging them to come together to ensure our clients received the support they required. Partnerships were established with rehab specialists Proclaim Care and independent financial advisors Frenkel Topping, agreeing a way to jointly fund and provide access to urgent rehabilitation treatment and financial matters.

We were determined not to leave our clients in limbo for years and I’m immensely proud to have found a way of providing help and support. We also pledged to offer legal support at zero cost to all we represent, pledging not to take any deductions from clients’ eventual compensation settlements.

Our response, I believe, established us as a dynamic firm with outstanding customer service which is fiercely committed to doing the right thing and standing up for the vulnerable.

I’m also a firm believer in a firm creating opportunities to let talented colleagues grow and contribute to how it evolves, and it has been an enormous pleasure to watch our trainee solicitors develop.

We established a new scheme at Hudgells enabling them to earn and learn as I’m a passionate advocate of finding ways to make qualification more affordable and meaningful. Juggling studying alongside a need to continue earning and raising a family is something I have had first-hand experience of; it’s now my job to ensure that others get this opportunity.

Perhaps the most memorable case in my career was acting for a young girl who had suffered an injury at school that developed into chronic pain, rendering her unable to walk and suffering from seizures.

It was an extremely complicated case and I remain in contact with her family almost 20 years later. What it taught me was, never give up and to back yourself no matter what obstacles arise, focusing on the one important person whose life depends on the outcome, your client.

SRA approved Compliance Officer FCA approved Manager Retired Magistrate Level 7 in Strategic Management and Leadership (CMI) Exiting Board Member/ Legal Services Director at Minster Law