Articles From the Team

Insurance and PI Update 2015

Insurance is fairly broad with a number of very different options open in the Manchester market.

The roles can range from fast track litigation to complex and high value disputes, in particular if you move into a large loss or catastrophic team, over the past 12 months we have seen some fairly dramatic changes in the light of the Jackson reforms with the end of referral fees and we have seen a certain level of slow down on both claimant and defendant roles.

In the last year we have seen Quindell enter the Manchester market which has generated a huge amount of roles across ID/RTA and fraud so we have seen quite a lot of movement with candidates taking up retrain opportunities. With the introductions of Alternative Business Structures and the growth of external non lawyer investors we have seen smaller firms growing as very fast rates.

In fraud we have all seen come crashing down with big players reducing teams. DWF/Keoghs/DAC just to name a few. This is largely due to the fixed fees and insurers keeping this work in house to save money so if you can opt into straight motor more opportunity. There are still some good opportunities for NQs- 4 in EL/PL teams, in particular if you have gained experience assisting on larger matters there are some great teams to look at in the North West.

Clinical negligence is quite niche but for candidates in this area there are some really good options in Manchester on both the claimant and defendant side. Salaries for an NQ are c. 30k in Manchester. Moving into the second quarter of 2015 claimant PI at the larger firms will remain steady, disease is very busy so if litigation is of interest gaining exposure in this area is beneficial and EL/PL experience is still very sought after.

For more information please contact Joanna Marklove or visit our website BCL Legal.