Hudgell Solicitors has added three new experienced specialists to its team in Manchester after a ‘promising and successful’ first 10 months operating across the North West.
The firm, which has been established 22 years and also has offices in London, Leeds and Hull, made its move into Manchester last December, having secured a legal aid franchise for representing people in claims against public authorities.
Now, with the firm having taken on a ‘substantial number of new clients’, it has added to both its Travel Litigation and Inquests teams, with further new additions expected in 2020.
Civil Liberties and Injury Litigation specialist Terry Wilcox, who represented at the Hillsborough Inquest, and Travel Litigation Solicitor Tracy Stansfield, each bring more than 20 years’ experience in their roles.
They have been joined by Litigation Executive Lucy Bevis, who will be part of the firm’s five-strong Travel Litigation team, having worked on cases involving accidents and injuries abroad, on aircraft and roads since 2012.
“We are delighted to have added three new members to our legal team who collectively bring decades of experience and knowledge of these kinds of cases to the Hudgell Solicitors team,” said Chief Executive Amanda Stevens.
“When we opted to enter the North West market last year we did so because our research had identified a significant opportunity by introducing a fresh face to the market. We were confident that the customer-focussed approach we are known for in our longer-established trading regions would be well received.
“That has proved to be the case and we are probably adding to the team sooner than we had predicted.
“It has been really pleasing not only to secure new clients, but also to be able to attract such a high calibre of experienced legal professionals who have been impressed by our ethos and our continued growth and have wanted to come on this journey with us.”
Hudgell Solicitors has established a growing national reputation for representation in Civil Liberties cases of national significance, including representing families of the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombings.
Senior Solicitor and Head of Travel Litigation Paul McClorry, who heads up the Manchester office, said: “It has been a very promising and successful first 10 months for us in Manchester and the time is now right to expand the team given the increasing number of cases we have been taking on.
“We have been delighted to see other firms who are not specialists in the areas we are referring people our way, and our high-profile work in national cases has brought us to the attention of many who were unaware of us.
“Terry joins our Civil Liberties team having vast experience of representing families at inquest, which is a growing part of our work, and was involved in the longest running in English legal history in Hillsborough, as part of teams which jointly received an award for legal aid lawyer of the year.
“Tracy has been helping those involved in accidents abroad for more than 20 years, and both she and Lucy have experience in helping families affected by serious illnesses suffered when on holiday.
“We are delighted to be able to offer the expertise of Terry, Tracy and Lucy to our clients and we anticipate making more additions to our team in 2020 if work continues to grow at the same rate.”