Law firm looks to significantly expand its top tier team after a year in the spotlight

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Hudgell Solicitors is pushing ahead with the expansion of its clinical negligence team and is recruiting ‘at all levels’ as it looks to build on a year of success and widespread acclaim.

Having taken on a second office in Manchester this year, Hudgells has recently added a number of experienced solicitors to its team, both in the North West and at its Hull headquarters.

It is now recruiting for a further 10 roles in its clinical negligence department, including experienced solicitors and paralegals.

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The firm, which was recently shortlisted in the Law Firm of the Year category at the national 2021 Law Society Excellence Awards, offers flexible working arrangements in which staff work an agreed number of days at home and at a specified office.

Chief executive Rachel Di Clemente believes the approach is helping attract more experienced lawyers, with the successful transition to a new way of working influencing their geographical reach.

“Our strategy has been to place a clear focus on the growth and expansion of our clinical negligence team based from our physical locations in Hull and Manchester,” she said.

“We added nine new specialists to our team operating across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire last November when we purchased HH Legal’s Clinical Negligence Team – Heptonstalls Solicitors – and we are now ready looking to increase the team once more.

Neil Hudgell at the Humber Street offices of Hudgell Solicitors. (Image: Reach Plc)

“The market has changed significantly over the past 18 months and there are now far more professionals working remotely. These lawyers still need to be part of a team though and have support from experienced colleagues.

“We offer flexibility in work, but also all the technological and supervisory support needed for a solicitor to develop and grow; they are part of long-established teams led by experienced associate solicitors who are there to lean on and learn from.”

Recruitment has been continual in recent months as a number of new faces have joined the firm.

They include clinical negligence solicitor Gareth Walkner, who has previously worked at Pryers Solicitors and Irwin Mitchell; catastrophic injury lawyer Sarah Patten, who worked at Minster Law for close to eight years and previously at Slater & Gordon; personal injuries specialist Steve Whiteside and civil liberties chartered legal executive Jolene Cunningham, another former Slater & Gordon solicitor who also spent four years at Fletchers Solicitors.

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The firm has enjoyed a year in the spotlight as a result of its legal work, including representing the families of victims of the Manchester Arena Bombing at the long-running public inquiry, and leading the representation of former subpostmasters to successfully see long-standing convictions related to the Post Office Horizon scandal overturned at the Court of Appeal.

It was named one the UK’s 200 Best Law Firms by The Times and awarded ‘Top Tier Firm’ status in the highly respected 2021 Legal 500 guide, which hailed the ‘skill and experience’ of managers Chris Moore, Vince Shore and Jane Woodcock in clinical negligence and personal injury.

More recently Hudgells was shortlisted in the categories of Medium-sized Law Firm of the Year at both the Law Society Excellence Awards and the Yorkshire Legal Awards.

Executive chairman and owner Neil Hudgell has also been shortlisted in the categories of Legal Personality of the Year at the Law Society Excellence Awards and Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year at the Yorkshire Legal Awards. Winners will be announced next month.

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