Bristol lawyer Jo Darlington is among the first in the country to receive official approval by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) in recognition for her dedication to helping those who have suffered life-changing brain injuries.
Jo, pictured, associate and head of serious injury in law firm Irwin Mitchell’s Bristol office, now becomes accredited as a specialist brain injury lawyers and assessor of the new APIL brain injury specialist accreditation scheme.
She joins fellow Irwin Mitchell partners Colin Ettinger and Amanda Stevens from its London office and Philip Edwards in Birmingham in gaining the accreditation, which provides a quality mark of competence and specialist expertise for solicitors and barristers dealing with personal injury claims and helps those looking for legal help to recognise expertise within the profession.
The four will assess professionals within and outside the firm who are requesting accreditation with APIL in the field of brain injury.
To be accepted the four, all long-standing members and supporters of APIL, had to demonstrate significant experience in the field of brain injury work, not only through case related work, but also in commitment generally through external teaching to both lawyers and other professionals in the brain injury field, and also through any publications they have produced.
Irwin Mitchell personal injury managing partner Stuart Henderson said: “This recognition is testament to the experience, dedication and innovation of the serious injury team at Irwin Mitchell.
“Each of the four demonstrated their expertise in handling brain injury cases, experience in supervising teams and assessing performance and their commitment to the brain injury community through teaching and involvement with brain injury support services.
“It is a great achievement and I have no doubt each of them will take the role seriously and do their utmost to be fair, impartial and strong ambassadors for APIL as it strives to protect the rights of the injured people at a time when their access to justice is under threat.”
Jo, an APIL senior litigator, said: “I am extremely proud to have been selected by APIL to become one of the first Accredited Brain Injury Specialists and new assessors of the accreditation scheme.
“At Irwin Mitchell we aim to provide an unrivalled level of support to those who have suffered a brain injury, gaining clients access to the best possible rehabilitation and care services to assist in their recovery and to provide the best quality of life.
“I look forward to offering help and guidance from my experience in this field to those who are hoping to become accredited by the claimant lawyers’ leading association.”
