Two senior solicitors have been accepted as Senior Litigators of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
Samuel McFadyen and Matthew Tuff, of Hudgell Solicitors, specialise in supporting victims of serious and catastrophic injuries, and the accreditations confirm their senior level of competency, providing their clients with additional assurance over their credentials in handling high-value claims cases.
Senior Litigators have more than five years of experience, run their own cases without supervision and are prepared to take cases all the way to trial when appropriate.
To achieve the accreditation, Samuel and Matthew had to prepare a detailed and extensive portfolio based on cases they have worked on to date, demonstrating each stage through to trial and highlighting the processes and procedures they followed.
Samuel, who is based in Hudgell Solicitors’ Leeds office, acts on behalf of individuals or families who have suffered life-changing injuries, which includes brain injury, spinal cord injury and fatality claims.
He deals with cases ranging from serious orthopaedic injuries to clients with severe brain injury.
Samuel said: “This accreditation is recognition of skill and expertise after demonstrating competencies at various stages. It gives clients confidence in what we do and reassurance their case is in good hands.”
Those who achieve Senior Litigator accreditation have a duty to keep up to date with the latest legal developments to help deal with their cases successfully, committing to completing a set amount of APIL accredited training every year.
Their training logs, as well as quality of training, are carefully and thoroughly monitored to ensure APIL standards are met, and they must confirm they meet the necessary standards every five years.
Matthew specialises in personal injury, particularly in the field of catastrophic injury claims, including spinal cord injury, brain injury and fatal acc
idents, and is based in Hudgell Solicitors’ London office.
He was named the Claims Professional of the Year at the 2016 Modern Claims Awards in recognition of his work in successfully representing victims of catastrophic injury, securing substantial six and seven figure settlements to help them start rebuilding their lives.
Matthew said his APIL Senior Litigator accreditation is further reassurance of his skills and expertise for the clients he represents.
He said: “You need to be able to show you have a lot of experience in all areas of managing a case. This accreditation demonstrates I have been assessed and it has been recognised by a professional body.
“I’m proud to have reached this level and it hopefully gives clients reassurance I have experience in all areas of personal injury litigation. The next stage for me is to apply for accreditation as a brain injury specialist.”
