Paul read Biology at Kings College, University of London, before being called to the Bar by Inner Temple in 2001. Paul is popular, highly sought after and extremely busy senior junior, with 21 years of experience, who has been consistently ranked as a leading junior in the field for over a decade and who is currently ranked as a, “Band 1 Leading Junior” by both Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500.
Paul is instructed by both claimants and defendants and his current case load covers the full spectrum of the most serious claims, including brain and spinal injuries, amputations, orthopaedic polytrauma and fatal accidents across road traffic collisions including involving the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, employers’ and public liability accidents, including a number for non-British nationals. Paul regularly undertakes cases in excess of one million pounds as sole counsel against King’s Counsel and given his experience is also frequently instructed as a junior to King’s Counsel in highly complex and/or catastrophic claims, where he undertakes much of the drafting, interlocutory and conference work with the full range of expert witnesses across liability, medical and quantum issues. Paul has a particular interest in claims involving amputations and prosthetic use, and as a cyclist and former motorcyclist, those arising from cycling and motorcycling accidents.
Paul has a substantial advisory element to his practice, is regularly instructed for his advice in conference, his drafting skills, Schedules, in addition to undertaking Round Table Settlement Meetings, Pathway meetings, contested interlocutory hearings, trials, appeals and inquests. Paul is extremely accessible, easy to work with, has a prompt turnaround of work and excellent attention to detail. Paul is very effective in a team, regularly working alongside King’s Counsel and multiple solicitors in catastrophic claims. Paul utilised paperless working and technology long before Covid-19 and only requires e-bundles. Paul is happy and confident undertaking all forms of remote court hearings, expert conferences and Round Table Settlement Meetings.
Costs have formed part of Paul’s practice for many years and with CCMHs being so fundamental to the effective running of high value personal injury claims, Paul is frequently instructed at an early stage to advise on case planning and budgets. Paul undertakes CCMHs in the High Court and County Court and with his costs experience, is happy to attend without being instructed alongside a separate costs draftsperson.
Paul has extensive experience across the full range of issues in complex and high value claims including:-
-
The Rehabilitation Code and The Serious Injuries Guide
-
Full care and case management packages
-
Capacity
-
Alternative accommodation claims
-
Substantial loss of earnings claims including for the self-employed
-
Prosthetics
-
- Assistive Technology - Adapted vehicles
-
Provisional Damages
-
Statutory funding
-
Periodical Payments
Outside of work, Paul enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and if not playing sport, watching his children playing sport, the countryside, walking his Labrador and he owns a Series Land Rover.
Recommendations
“Paul is extremely experienced and knowledgeable. He is very capable of dealing with complex, difficult and high-value claims. He is tenacious in his approach and always goes the extra mile. His client care is second-to-none and he genuinely cares and works very hard to achieve the best possible outcome. ”
Legal 500 2024
"Paul is an excellent advocate with detailed and extensive knowledge." "Paul is an experienced advocate who is knowledgeable, responsive and empathetic to clients. He is able to relay difficult and complex advice in a way that clients understand." "Paul is extremely capable of dealing with very complex, difficult and high-value claims."
Chambers UK 2023
“Paul is very empathetic towards the claimants and is able to support them through tough times. He is tenacious in his approach, very hardworking, and always willing to go the extra mile. He is very experienced and knowledgeable and is an invaluable asset to any claimant team.”
Legal 500 2023
“Paul is tactically very astute. He has a fantastic manner when dealing with clients, helping them through the complex litigation process. ” “Paul is a really strong performer.”
Chambers UK 2023
“Paul is very strategically aware, he really knows when a case has reached its high watermark, tactically astute and makes clients feel at ease in very difficult scenarios.”
Legal 500 2022
“Has a wealth of experience dealing with a variety of personal injury claims and has a fantastic knowledge of how insurers work.”
Chambers UK 2022
“Incredibly knowledgeable and very good at dealing with clients.” “An excellent barrister who provides sensible advice in a clear way. He is very good both on paper and in conference.”
Chambers UK 2021
“A force on his feet and equally good in conferences and when preparing paper advice.”
Legal 500 2021
“He’s very good with clients and is very accessible; he’s always available at the end of the phone and he’s very good at talking through issues and deciding where to take the case.”
Chambers UK 2020
“He operates at a silk level.”
Legal 500 2020
Notable Cases
The following a short selection of some current and recent cases that Paul has been instructed in:-
- Above knee amputation to young female pedestrian
- Serious traumatic brain injury to a pedestrian
- Spinal cord injury to a young adult male passenger arising out of a road traffic collision
- Partial hand amputation and prosthetic claim arising out of an accident at work
- Polytrauma arising from crushing by machinery at work
- Moderate traumatic brain injury to a cyclist with a high value loss of earnings claim
- Spinal cord injury to a young adult male arising out of an accident at work
- Polytrauma to a motorcyclist
- Fatal accident claim for a cyclist
- Polytrauma including serious bowel injuries to a young adult male passenger arising out of a road traffic accident
- Polytrauma arising out of a fall from construction machinery at work
- Serious traumatic brain injury to a young child arising out of a road traffic collision
- Serious traumatic brain injury to a baby arising out of a road traffic collision
- Spinal cord injury to an elderly adult arising out of a public liability accident
- Serious traumatic brain injury to a pedestrian arising out of a road traffic collision
- Fatal accident claim for a railway worker who was crushed by a train
- Serious traumatic brain injury to a young adult male arising out of a road traffic collision
- Polytrauma to a cyclist
- Serious traumatic brain injury for a motorcyclist
- Above knee amputation and prosthetic claim arising out of an accident at work
- Spinal cord injury for young adult male arising out of a road traffic collision
- Below knee amputation and prosthetic claim arising out of road traffic collision
- Fatal accident claim arising from an industrial roofing accident at work
- Fatal accident claim for familial dependency to a foreign country
Memberships
Personal Injuries Bar Association
Qualifications
BSc (Lond) (First Class Honours)
