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5 minutes with...
5 minutes with... Tania Sless
Q: Has the industry changed drastically since you started working in it? A: There have been very major changes in the personal injury arena since I came to England in 1988. Back then injury claims were almost all funded by legal aid or by trade unions. Other than trade union member claims, most of our opponents were High Street solicitors who handled a wide range of work and did not hold themselves out to be specialist personal injury litigators. Now claimants tend to be represented by lawyers who only handle personal injury work. There has also been a considerable amount of consolidation (on both sides) such that there are fewer claimant and also defendant firms. Q: What has been the key positive or negative impact of change in your area of the market? A: Case management by the courts means that there is generally less delay than was the case in the 1980s. Cases are resolved more swiftly and often before proceedings are issued. Less positive, unfortunately, has been the relegation in some instances of the interests of claimants behind the commercial interests of their lawyers. I am often asked to provide a recommendation to someone who has been injured and wants to bring a claim and it has become an increasing challenge, although I’m pleased to say that there are still some ‘old school’ lawyers around who put their clients first.
Q: Who inspires you and why? A: On an individual level, I am in awe of my partner David Hunt, who has boundless energy and an impressive memory for people and facts of which I am very jealous. More generally I’m inspired by seriously injured claimants who retain a positive outlook on life. Q: Have you had/got a mentor? If so, what was the most valuable piece of advice they gave you? A: Sadly, I pre-date the introduction of mentoring – but over the years I learned a huge amount from Alec Diamond in Dublin, Geoff Meyer in the Prudential legal department and David Rogers at DAC, all of whom were lateral thinkers and problem solvers. Alec told me during what was then called my training to stop thinking about work when I shut the door to the office each day – advice that I wish that I had been able to take! Q: If you were not in your current position, what would you be doing? A: I was very lucky to fall by chance into a really interesting area of law involving people as opposed to property or documents. But if I hadn’t been a lawyer, then I would love to have worked in an art gallery. Tania Sless is a partner specialising in catastrophic injury and product liability claims at international law firm DAC Beachcroft.
Gregory Abrams Davidson chooses Proclaim Eclipse’s Proclaim Practice Management solution selected in 6-figure deal
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regory Abrams Davidson is implementing the Proclaim Practice Management Software Solution from Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society’s endorsed provider.
Based in Liverpool with offices in London, Gregory Abrams Davidson is an established law firm with a clientbase comprised of corporate, public sector and private clients. The firm prides itself on its philosophy of striving for professional excellence and maintaining its stellar reputation. In a 6-figure deal, the Proclaim Practice Management Software system has been rolled out to 80 staff, across all work areas including Clinical Negligence, Conveyancing, Matrimonial, Probate and Personal Injury. Proclaim provides all fee earners with a centralised and consistent approach to matter management – from inception right through to completion. Risk is effectively managed at both departmental and firm-wide levels, with users benefiting from a host of tools to manage and streamline the client ‘journey’.
MC // Septemeber 2015
Eclipse has also conducted full data migration from the incumbent system, allowing the integrated Proclaim practice accounting and financial management toolset to be implemented, boosting efficiency and providing detailed analysis of the firm’s operations. Gregory Abrams, Senior Partner at Gregory Abrams Davidson, comments: “We pride ourselves on striving for excellence and providing first class service for our clients. In the everchanging legal sector, it is crucial that we implement a software system which will enable us to streamline our process to ensure administrative overheads are removed and our fee earners have more time to spend delivering expert advice to our clients. Proclaim was the clear marketleader for this.” For further information, please contact Darren Gower, Marketing Director at Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita plc, via darren.gower@eclipselegal.co.uk or call 01274 704100. Alternatively, visit www.eclipselegal.co.uk