Experience
Paul leads DWF's Casualty team in Birmingham and our Abuse Claims Special Interest Group. Paul has a particular interest in complex liability issues and niche areas of law, such as vicarious liability, failure to remove and modern slavery, as well as "damage" in the context of construction and product liability policies.
Paul has many years' experience of acting for major international and UK insurers, large corporates and public bodies, in a range of complex and often specialist, highly sensitive cases, some of which cross international borders.
His caseload involves defending claims and advising on policy coverage issues, across matters including property damage, product liability claims, construction and engineering claims, as well as high value/complex injury claims including relating to abuse.
Paul advises on jurisdiction issues/disputes, including in multi-defendant (often products) cases and personal injury claims; also on how his clients may recover their related costs. This includes a leading case in which, following success in the jurisdiction battle, Paul obtained a wasted costs order against the Claimants' solicitors to recover the client's incurred legal costs. Paul has pursued other innovative means of seeking cost recovery, such as assigning a litigants cause of action to pursue former solicitors for their negligent advice as part of a discontinuance.
Paul has been involved in several leading law-making cases, particularly dealing with issues such as abuse, failure to remove and vicarious liability. He has extensive experience advising on incidents of the utmost severity and sensitivity. He is well versed in advising on media/PR issues. His advice and assistance is sought by local authority/public body and private sector clients in relation to the death of children. He has acted in several of the most high profile child death cases of the last 15 years.
As an acknowledged expert in claims relating to abuse, Paul sits as an expert on the Forum of Insurance Lawyer's Abuse Sector Focus Team. He is also the legal advisor to the Safeguarding Subcommittee of the Roman Catholic Church Birmingham Archdiocesan Trust.
Paul is the Global Client Partner for one of DWF's global key clients, which involves him managing and co-ordinating matters relating to the relationship, with colleagues and client teams across the world.
Paul has been recommended in successive editions of the major legal directories in the Professional Negligence (Defendant); Personal Injury (Defendant); and Local Government categories.
Testimonials
Paul has been described in testimonials given to the legal directories as:
“[having] a very good acuity for how cases are going to pan out and how to fight them”
"one of the best defence solicitors operating in this field"
"provides excellent tactical and legal knowledge, and is prepared to fight legally novel cases very hard"
"extremely capable, well organised and affable. He is a strategic and tenacious negotiator. He brings clear minded common sense to each claim. He has excellent communication skills, with a proven track record in complex PI claims"
Chambers & Partners
"technically excellent… a stand-out…."
" Very responsive. He's tenacious and a real fighter. He offers a really thoughtful analysis of cases, with a keen eye for tactics. He engages with the issues in a much deeper way that most of the solicitors I work with in this area. He's also very personable…"
"one of the most tactically astute and intelligent solicitors I have met"
Legal 500