Following a record year of growth, Hudgell Solicitors has promoted four internal colleagues to senior associate positions; the appointments are across its core services of medical negligence, personal and serious injury, civil liberties and group actions.
Hudgell Solicitors’ chief executive Rachel Di Clemente says the criteria for a successful senior associate position “cuts through” traditional conventions of length of service and seniority, and rewards business initiative whether it be growth, training and development, financial performance, or excellence in client care.
The new senior associates are: Helena Wood, Kerry Gillespie, Sarah Kidd, and Anthony Doodson.
We are very lucky to have such a strong team of senior lawyers at Hudgell Solicitors and these four promotions reflect the individual contributions they have each made.
They all contribute to the success of our business in different ways and we are incredibly grateful for their dedication to our clients and our business.
Recently, the firm marked a year of being employee-owned by establishing a new ‘forum’ of team members to represent colleagues and generate ideas to drive the business forward.
Hudgell Solicitors was also named in the Times Best 250 Law Firms list for the fifth consecutive year with its work in cases relating to human rights, personal injury, and clinical negligence commended.
Since our transition to employee ownership in 2024, it has been fantastic to see some of our senior team stepping up to ensure the future success of their business.
We strive to allow colleagues to succeed by embracing and celebrating their individual strengths, alongside ensuring that everyone at our firm has a shared vision of the future of our business.
Meet Hudgell Solicitors’ new senior associates:
Helena Wood, Clinical Negligence, Hull
Helena, a chartered legal executive, represents clients who have experienced birth injuries, amputation, brain injury, and fatal negligence claims.
She has been consistently ranked in the Legal 500 Guide where she is described as having “all the key characteristics of a great claimant lawyer: she is highly dedicated to her clients.”
Helen’s route into a legal career was not a traditional one – changing careers in her late 20s she became a legal secretary before qualifying via CILEX and then joining Hudgells in 2013. She said:
I’ve always been encouraged to get involved with business development and marketing from when I first started at Hudgell Solicitors and have been entrusted to supervise a team from an early stage, as well as being allocated some interesting cases from day one, which have all helped with my career progression.
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, she has specialised in Clinical Negligence Law since 2008 and is also a team leader based in the firm’s Hull office.
Kerry Gillespie, Serious Injury, Manchester
Kerry joined Hudgells’ serious injury team in Manchester in 2022 having previously worked at Irwin Mitchell. She specialises in supporting catastrophically injured clients to rebuild their lives following spinal cord injuries, traumatic amputations, and serious brain injuries.
Since joining the firm, she has represented clients impacted by the Manchester Arena bombing and says she “has not looked back”, expanding her knowledge to new areas of work and has been involved in several high-value, complex cases.
Kerry was recently named in the directories Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for her work in spinal injuries and amputations.
She also successfully led a claim for harassment and breach of privacy against a conspiracy theorist on behalf of her client Martin Hibbert and described the case as “empowering”, knowing that the firm “cares about its clients and their struggles.”
Kerry is also a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Law.
I’m delighted to have had my hard work recognised. It is a real privilege to work for a firm that supports internal progression and to be promoted to Senior Associate.
I have been given the opportunity to work on incredibly important cases, such as the Manchester Arena victims and the Hibbert v Hall case. This has created an environment of learning and progression and enabled me to continually learn and grow as a lawyer.
Our incredible success at The Royal Court of Justice has been the highlight of my year.
Hudgells really puts client care at the forefront of everything they do, supporting new initiatives and giving us the ability to help grow the firm in terms of clients, financial performance, and visibility.
Sarah Kidd, Personal Injury & Criminal Injuries, Hull
Sarah joined Hudgell’s personal injury team in Hull in 2008 and her work has covered public liability, accidents at work, road traffic accidents, and serious injury and fatal injury claims.
As well as handling her cases, Sarah manages the Personal Injury Team overseeing colleagues’ cases and providing guidance and support. Sarah is also involved in the strategic planning for criminal injury cases and was listed in Legal 500 for the first time in 2024 after also completing her Senior Litigator Accreditation with APIL.
I am delighted to be promoted to Senior Associate as a recognition of my hard work and commitment to the business.
I am lucky to have worked with some inspirational colleagues during my time at Hudgells.
Hudgell Solicitors has always focused on ability and ensuring that the right person is in the right role. This creates a culture that rewards hard work and fosters respect.
Colleagues genuinely want others to progress and improve, which creates a supportive atmosphere and can be seen in the current generation of trainees coming through.
Anthony Doodson, Civil Liberties, Hull
Anthony joined Hudgells’ Civil Liberties team in 2023 and supports former sub-postmasters who were victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal – leading civil claims for compensation that truly reflect the damage caused to lives.
Previously, at Minister Law, Anthony was an associate solicitor in its Catastrophic Injury Department.
I am very pleased to receive the promotion and recognition for the hard work I have put into my role as part of the Post Office Horizon team.
My highlight has been to get to a point where we are starting to settle some of the complex HSS post offices cases.
Hudgell Solicitors rewards legal ability and how good you are at your job, and the results you achieve for our clients, as opposed to focusing on your time recording and billing ability.
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Hudgell Solicitors is an award-winning, recognised leader in the legal fields we specialise in. We are recognised as a Leading Firm by the Legal 500 Guide and are listed as one of the ‘Best 250 Law Firms in the UK’ by The Times in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Read more: Careers at Hudgell Solicitors
