A SOLICITOR is carrying out her new role with a North East law firm with military precision after returning to civvie street to represent people who have suffered catastrophic brain injury.
Former Army major Lois Lloyd has joined BHP Law’s Court of Protection team, a vital and specialist role to support clients who have been awarded significant damages following loss of capacity due to critical brain damage.
Led by partner Karen Pratt, BHP Law is one of a small number of firms with a specialist team of experienced solicitors to manage financial settlements for clients following an award by the court.
Injury is caused typically by clinical negligence, road traffic accidents or other incidents and Court of Protection Deputies are usually invited by a claimant's solicitor to act on behalf of their client.
Lois has ten years' experience as a qualified solicitor, most of which she spent in the British Army, advising the chain of command on conduct and discipline matters and in courts martial prosecutions.
She served three months in Afghanistan and was also posted to Germany, Cyprus, London and Salisbury Plain.
Originally from Merseyside, she worked in personal injury in Manchester prior to the Army, then for a local authority in Nottinghamshire. Her husband Peter's job as a pilot based at Durham-Tees Valley Airport brought her to the North East.
"I was really attracted to the role at BHP Law because it seemed to combine my experience in personal injury law with working very closely with clients over a long period of time, sometimes for the rest of their lives," said Lois.
"What has stood out for me about BHP Law since I joined is the personal contact and long term relationships the firm has with its clients. Karen is very experienced and knowledgable and clients clearly have trust in her and value the personal relationship they have with the firm," she added.
Karen said Lois's experience of the vagaries of the law of armed conflict, which rarely follows a straightforward path, qualified her well for the bespoke nature of Court of Protection work.
She said: "Every case is different and the needs of every client and their families is never the same. Unfortunately we are introduced to clients in very difficult circumstances so you have to be able to build good rapport and trust, and get to know the client and their family on a very personal level.
"We are getting more and more of this work, which sadly means more tragedies. Following a change in the law settlements have also increased significantly so it's more important than ever that we have experienced solicitors working as Court of Protection Deputies, for whom the care of clients is paramount."