Yesterday saw the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) conference take place at Celtic Manor near Newport and the first opportunity for the new APIL president Matthew Stockwell to speak to the organisations he will represent for at least the next 12 months in what is arguably the most challenging time for the personal injury sector in history.
Speaking in front of his peers for the first time he delivered a rousing speech and urged personal injury lawyers to be proud and fight on against the barrage of government cuts and changes that are currently plaguing the sector.
The new president of APIL told the conference: “The recent changes to litigation funding and procedure present an enormous challenge. They have already caused considerable uncertainty and disruption and will continue to do so for some time.
“The government has not heeded our concerns. Against this unhappy background we have no choice but to react positively, adapt and find new ways to continue serving the needs of injured people.”
He also reiterated his previous warnings surrounding government plans to increase the small claims limit arguing that it would lead to claims management companies exploiting the gap left by solicitors and insisted that insurers claims that solicitors could be removed from the process altogether would lead to claims being under settled and unfair treatment of the genuine accident victim.
Image source(s)
1. Insurance POST; http://www.postonline.co.uk/post/news/2296489/bereavement-damages-are-a-postcode-lottery-say-lawyers