From office admin to head of civil liberties, how Vicky Richardson fights for ordinary people let down by the state.
When Vicky Richardson walked into Hudgell Solicitors for the first time in 1998 the office was above a bookie’s shop on Ellerburn Avenue in Hull. Vicky arrived for an interview for a secretary vacancy and Neil Hudgell, who had just started the law firm and had a young family, had baby sick on his shirt.
Vicky got the job and the firm, their careers, families and their reputations began a 25-year journey involving landmark legal cases that would shock Britain.
Starting as a secretary, Vicky had no idea of the work that would come her way, “I had no formal legal training; I’d left Sydney Smith Comprehensive with a handful of GCSEs and dropped out of college. I was a working-class girl from west Hull, but an opportunity came along, and I just said yes.”
After moving to a new office on Holderness Road, Neil Hudgell asked Vicky if she would consider becoming a junior fee earner with personal injury claims, “probably because I wasn’t the best secretary!” says Vicky.
“On my first day Neil gave me 70 files and told me to “crack on”. By this point I had worked on cases with Neil, so I knew the protocol. I quickly realised that I could deal with these claims quickly and before long I was holding my own with those dealing with the more complex cases,” she recalls.
‘Working in civil liberties is certainly rewarding… it’s about getting answers and creating change’
Fast forward to 2022 and Vicky Richardson is the head of Hudgell Solicitors’ expanding Civil Liberties team. It started five years ago, and her caseload includes work relating to police assaults, unlawful arrest, breaches of Data Protection laws and human rights. She also represents clients at inquest, including families of the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, in which 22 people lost their lives and more than a thousand were injured.
Hudgell Solicitors looks after the interests of more than 100 families affected by the attack, representing those who lost loved ones on that horrific night. The inquests into those deaths are underway and families are desperate for more information.
“Working in civil liberties is certainly rewarding. Most of the claims I deal with are not about money, it’s about getting answers and creating change,” says Vicky, “it can be a really tough, you become part of your client’s lives, their extended family.
“I have an emotional investment and what motivates me is getting answers for them. With the Manchester Arena bombing, families want to know what happened, could it have been prevented? And if so, force change,” she says.
Vicky has learnt that there isn’t always a level playing field for civil liberty cases and inquests when it comes to funding, “Taking on the state is incredibly difficult. Funding is the first hurdle as the average person doesn’t have the money to challenge the state which has a limitless pot of money. But families come to you pouring their hearts out and we can’t turn them away,” she says.
‘The cases we are dealing with are often ground-breaking and lives are being changed’
Her work has also involved representing sub postmasters who were victims of the Post Office-Horizon scandal, ordinary, hard-working people who were prosecuted for crimes of theft and false accounting.
“It’s a scandal affecting decent, honest people,” says Vicky who was also involved in the 2021 inquest into the four victims of serial killer Stephen Port, dramatised in the BBC ‘Four Lives’ series: “That was a seven-year battle for the families to have their voice heard. What is important in these cases is that we are the voice of people who have been let down, usually by the state. We are making a difference. The cases we are dealing with are often ground-breaking and lives are being changed for the better as a result, that is what is important.”
In 2018 Vicky’s first high profile case came along, preparing for the inquest into the death of Carl Sargeant, a Welsh Politician who took his own life after being sacked.
Following Carl’s death, his family found themselves in the media spotlight, “This was just a normal family grieving a loss. They were faced with taking on the Welsh Government, who had a strong legal team. A real David and Goliath battle,” recalls Vicky.
“Neil and I were able to support the family and help them navigate their way through the legal process while dealing with the murky world of politics. Neil and I are still both in contact with Jack, Carl’s son. “
There have been other cases where Vicky and her team at Hudgell Solicitors, along with families they represent, have worked together to create lasting change. Katrina O’Hara was a 44-year-old mother who was murdered by her ex-partner in 2016 at her hair salon in Dorset. She had reported him to the police after he repeatedly confronted her and sent her messages. The police kept her mobile phone as evidence and on the day she was killed she was without it.
Vicky says as a result of a Coroner’s Report into Katrina’s death police forces are now issuing replacement phones to victims of abuse: “We have seen a lot of policy changes with the work we have done looking at police failings and Katrina’s family helped make that change,” she says.
‘I do have goals; we’re aiming to be the leading Civil Liberties team in the north’
Vicky says her work would not have been possible if her potential had not been spotted and developed, “It’s really been quite special giving me these opportunities”, she says of Neil, “the legacy will be passing my skills and experience on.”
There are other ambitions too: “The last 25 years have been an incredible journey for a local girl and I’m excited to see what the futures holds. I do have goals; we’re aiming to be the leading Civil Liberties team in the north. I think what makes us different from other companies is our bravery.”
And it still feels like a family firm says Vicky, “That baby sick on Neil’s shirt 25 years ago when I walked in for the first time, that belonged to Eliza Hudgell, she’s now part of my team.”
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