Overview
This year’s PI Futures comes at a key time and will have a dual focus this year – debating the continuing reform agenda, and looking at how law firms are adapting to both a reshaped PI market and broader changes in how they operate.
From a practice point of view, this year will see the government’s assessment of the whiplash reforms – and the Supreme Court ruling on mixed claims – as well as medical reporting reform, mandatory mediation and the extension of fixed recoverable costs to low-value clinical negligence claims.
Meanwhile, we continue to see consolidation as some firms exit and others restructure – in one high-profile example, by becoming employee owned – while there are examples of firms looking to adopt a four-day week. We will look at how lawyers should be adapting to the modern PI market.
**Mutiple Ticket Discount: Book two or more tickets and get 15% off. Enter “disc15” in the coupon code at checkout.**
ACSO Drinks and Canapes
In Manchester the night before? Join ACSO for pre-conference drinks and canapes from 6pm on Wednesday 18 September at The Fountain House, 14 Albert Square, Manchester M2 5PE. Email conference@legalfutures.co.uk if you’d like to come along.
Speakers
Jonathan Scarsbrook, Immediate Past President, APIL
Jonathan is APIL’s immediate past president and has been involved in working for the interests of individuals who have suffered injury for more than 20 years. He is a partner at Irwin Mitchell and the Technical Director with particular focus on the government’s seemingly never-ending law reform agenda.
Sue Brown, Chair, Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS)
Sue Brown was elected as Chair of MASS in October 2021. She was previously Chair of MASS between November 2014 and November 2016, formerly served as Vice-Chair and has been a member of the MASS Management Committee since 2012. She is a Director on the Claims Portal board and MedCo board representing MASS. She is a mediator registered with the Civil Mediation Council and is on the LexisNexis editorial board for PI. She has been a regulator commentator and speaker on legal issues for a number of years.
Matthew Maxwell Scott, Executive Director, Association of Consumer Support Organisations
The Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) was established as a not-for-profit membership body in 2019 to represent the interests of consumers as claimants in the civil justice system. Prior to forming ACSO, Matthew was government relations lead at Slater & Gordon, before which he worked as a professional speechwriter at the BBC, RSA Insurance and at the CBI. A county councillor in Lancashire, he has also run for Parliament twice, been the governor of several schools and is a director of the Abbotsford Trust.
David Owen, CEO, Oliver & Co Solicitors
David joined Oliver & Co in 2000, and became a partner in 2001. His early expertise was in personal injury litigation, but since 2017 he has been the driving force behind the firm’s business development, marketing, and overall management. In 2022, David and co-owner Kay Cook made history by transforming Oliver & Co into Chester’s first employee-owned law firm, a move that empowers employees by giving them a direct stake in the company’s success and future.
Maurece Hutchinson, Managing Director, JMK Solicitors
Maurece qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and is the managing director of JMK Solicitors, Northern Ireland’s leading personal injury firm. JMK become the first employer in Northern Ireland to adopt a 4-day-week, with no reduction in pay, in January 2020. In the last four years JMK has increased staff and turnover by 60% while at the same time maintaining a 99% client satisfaction rating.
Zoe Holland, Chief Commercial Officer, Fletchers
Zoe has over 25 years of legal and business experience. For 12 years, until February 2023, she was the founder and managing director of ZebraLC – a pioneering business within the personal injury sector through which she gathered unprecedented experience in sector first M&A deals, including MoneyPlus Group and the Co-Operative Group. Zoe also advised private equity clients Equistone, Fortress, Centrebridge and Mobeus. Zoe has used her professional platform to champion under-represented groups, including women, people with life-changing disabilities, mental health and neurodiversity. In June 2023, Zoe was awarded an MBE in the King’s Honours.
Nick McDonnell, Director, Kain Knight
Nick is a director with Kain Knight and a costs lawyer who graduated from Cambridge University in 1998 and subsequently went into law, practicing civil litigation with a small solicitors’ firm in the north- west, where he developed an interest in costs. Nick qualified as a costs lawyer in 2010, and has become a well-respected expert in his field, conducting high value and complex costs matters, managing a costs business, delivering technical training to solicitors, as well as championing access to justice in the face of the government’s Fixed Recoverable Costs reforms.
James Maxey, Chief Executive, Express Solicitors
James Maxey is the CEO of a group of companies in the personal injury sector including InjuryLawyers4U, Express Solicitors and Ontime Reports. Express and its associated companies have built what they think is the best and most complete eco system for the injured claimant encompassing the whole process from the onboarding of new clients to the handling of the litigation case. This process includes the medico-legal and rehab elements, utilising in-house barristers and costs lawyers and a comprehensive litigation insurance offering. In 2024, the group grew approximately 25% when measured by turnover, and each year moves forward with more legal experts, more clients, and more innovation.
Darren Mendel, Partner & Head of Credit Hire, HF Ltd
Based in Horwich Farrelly’s London office, Darren handles cases in respect of credit hire, general personal injury, low speed impacts and opportunistic fraud. He has been instructed by insurers for over 20 years and is regarded as a key figure for defending road traffic cases. He is most recognised throughout the insurance industry for his work in credit hire having personally handled the 2009 Court of Appeal cases of Copley v Lawn and Maden v Haller, which still sets out the framework for intervention strategy. Darren also sits on the firm’s Executive board.
David Bott, Senior Partner, Bott & Co
David was elected to the executive committee of the Legal Management Section of the Law Society in April 2006 and sat on it until 2012. He later became vice-chairman of the Legal Management Section for two years. David was the President of APIL from April 2011 to April 2012, and sat on its Executive Committee for 12 years. He has been heavily involved with the RTA claims portal via the Project Steering Group, and was a director of PortalCo for 6 years. He has been a board member of MedCo since 2015.
Andrew Hogan, Barrister, Kings Chambers
Andrew Hogan is barrister at Kings Chambers, with nearly 30 years experience of costs litigation, and the author of a well-known blog on costs and litigation funding: www.costsbarrister.co.uk Highlights of his career in recent years include no fewer than five cases in the Court of Appeal on the QOCS rules. He is described by Chambers and Partners as: “a great talent – so methodical and someone who presents very well”
James Saralis, Chief Executive Officer, NAHL Group
James Saralis joined NAHL Group plc in January 2018. NAHL has been operating in the UK personal injury market for over 30 years. It provides outsourced marketing services to law firms through National Accident Helpline and claims processing services to individuals through National Accident Law, and its joint venture Law Together. Through Bush & Co., it provides expert witness, case management and care services to both claimants and defendants in the catastrophic and serious injury market. James has a wealth of experience both operationally and in the AIM market, having spent over 15 years in the legal, general insurance and financial services sectors.
Howard Dean, Partner and Head of Costs at Keoghs and Vice-President of FOIL
Howard is a solicitor, partner and head of costs at Keoghs. He leads a niche team representing compensators handling high-value costs claims, providing strategic advice and conducting litigation. He has been involved in many notable cases and appeals over the last 20 years including four in the Court of Appeal. He has been heavily involved in civil justice reform working with in partnership with stakeholders, the Civil Justice Council and the Ministry of Justice. Howard is Vice-President of FOIL (2023/24) and a member of the CPR and Costs Sector Focus Groups.
Jennifer Dougal, Operations Director, 3d Rehabilitation
Jennifer is the Operations Director for 3d Rehabilitation, part of the Premex Group of companies. Jennifer has enjoyed a successful career as a solicitor specialising in industrial disease, serious injury and clinical negligence cases. Since qualifying, she has spent over 10 years as a member of senior management teams at board level for a number of law firms, where she led transformational changes to help deliver a better client journey and reduce case lifecycles. Jennifer is also a member of the Law Society small firms committee and has been a member of the civil justice working party for the creation of the noise induced hearing loss fixed fee reforms.
Venue
Pendulum Hotel & Conference Centre
Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3BB
Ticket Pricing
Early Bird Rate (until 9 August): £199 + vat
Standard Rate (from 10 August): £245 + vat
Mutiple Ticket Discount: Book two or more tickets and get 15% off. Enter “disc15” in the coupon code at checkout.
