Neil has built his legal career around advocacy, representing individuals in various areas of civil litigation including personal injury, consumer, and housing disrepair claims. In this blog, he shares how his path developed, why he values being back in full-time advocacy, and what he enjoys most both inside and outside of court.
What first drew you to advocacy?
I qualified as a solicitor and began my career working in personal injury and general civil litigation in the North West. Advocacy wasn’t something I had necessarily planned – it happened naturally. In the first couple of weeks into my training contract, someone in the firm handed me a file with a hearing listed for a couple of hours later that same day, and told me that I would be attending as the advocate! Fortunately, it was quite a straightforward matter, but it gave me my first taste of life inside a court room and I caught the bug.
Where I trained was quite unusual in that there was a real focus on advocacy training with a view to keeping work (and in turn costs recovery), in house where possible. We had mock hearings in the boardroom, and we were encouraged to attend trials to sit behind Counsel on all of our own cases, which gave me a lot of early exposure to the workings of the court. While many solicitors were desk-based, I was frequently in the County Court, dealing with disposal hearings, interlocutory applications, and case management conferences almost from day one. The combination of casework and advocacy skills, gave me a solid foundation for my legal career.
Since qualifying as a Solicitor in 2009, I have introduced in-house advocacy into each firm I’ve worked in, often where it had not previously been part of their practice. I remained an active advocate throughout and also trained and encouraged other Solicitors to take a more confident and engaged role in court advocacy, alongside my day-to-day traditional casework as a Solicitor.
What brought you to 8PP?
I first joined Craig (8PP’s Founder & Managing Director) in 2020, and worked with him for two years. I then moved to a high volume, civil and commercial litigation firm where I was tasked with the role of developing an in-house advocacy team. It was very busy, high-volume work, which meant plenty of court hearings and advocacy work. I really enjoyed my time there, especially being involved in the training and development of more junior members of the team.
Then when Craig was establishing 8PP he reached out to me, and I was pleased to return. Advocacy had always been the part of the job I enjoyed most, and 8PP gave me the opportunity to focus on it on a more traditional, full-time basis. Of all the roles I have had during my legal career, those I’ve had working with Craig – both previously and now again at 8PP – have been the most enjoyable.
What type of work do you focus on?
I handle a lot of housing disrepair work, as well as cases involving PCP car finance and undisclosed commissions. My background is in personal injury, and I still handle those matters occasionally. But whether it’s personal injury, housing disrepair, or financial mis-selling, my work has always predominantly been about representing Claimants – often representing the ‘little man’ against bigger organisations. I have always found securing positive outcomes in these circumstances particularly satisfying.
A recent career highlight?
At the end of last year, I was instructed to act for the Claimant in Stojalowski v Bristol City Council [2024] EWCC 30, at Bristol County Court. The case involved important issues around matters of allocation, a key point of dispute during the course of all housing disrepair claims. We were successful in securing a significant judgment that has had a real impact on disrepair litigation. For me, that was a career high – both in terms of the challenge faced in the preparation for and attendance at the hearing, and also the outcome. Read more about the case here.
That case has since been cited widely and has influenced how courts approach allocation in housing disrepair claims. Knowing that the hard work that I put into that case has had a wider impact beyond the immediate parties, has been particularly rewarding.
You’ve also qualified as a Solicitor Advocate – why take that step?
I had been appearing in court for many years, so in practice it didn’t change too much. However, I decided to formalise it and obtain Higher Rights of Audience. I’m not someone who worries too much about titles or status, but it felt like a natural step given the advocacy-focused roles I have had in more recent years. It also allows me to appear in the higher courts of England and Wales, as and when the opportunity to do so arises.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
The variety of cases and the chance to be in court regularly. I much prefer being out and about at different courts all over the country, to being sat behind a desk full time, and this role gives me that balance. It is a job that I genuinely enjoy, which isn’t something that everyone can say and so I count myself as lucky!
And outside of work?
I’m a lifelong Liverpool Football Club supporter – though after 22 years on the season ticket list, I’m still waiting for one! I do get to the occasional match, including recently with my daughter. I am married and we have two teenage daughters, and we spend time together going to concerts – we saw Coldplay in London recently, which was fantastic.
Travel is another big interest. This summer we took a trip down the West Coast of America – San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. My wife and I had been a couple of times before and enjoyed it, so it was lovely to be able to take the girls with us and visit some great places (Disneyland was a highlight). It was a memorable trip. More often, we travel much closer to home and like to head to places like Portugal or Italy for a bit of sun.
Final thoughts?
I’ve had a fairly traditional route – law degree at the University of Liverpool, Legal Practice Course and then completed my training contract – but what’s kept me engaged throughout my time in law is advocacy. Since 2020, it’s been the main part of what I do, and I feel like I’ve found the right fit.