A prominent Hull solicitor has set his sights on winning more high profile cases where his firm makes a difference on a national level as he enters his second quarter of a century.
Neil Hudgell’s eponymous firm has recently been instrumental in righting the Post Office IT injustice, while playing a key role in the ongoing Manchester Bombing inquiry.
The founder and chairman was named Legal Personality of the Year by the Law Society in a remarkable 12 months that crowns 25 years.
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“By the time we reached 20 years in business I had refocused my mind onto getting involved in matters that are interesting and defining, and which generally make a real difference on a wider platform,” he said. “I like to get involved in national cases that involve big institutions.”
The firm represented the families of four young gay men murdered by serial killer Stephen Port at inquest, which found police failings probably contributed to at least three of the deaths - a case recently dramatised on television.
It has also represented widow Claire Mercer, who has campaigned for Smart Motorways to be scrapped
since the death of her husband Jason. The Government announced earlier this month that a planned rollout of such roads was now being put on hold.
“The inquest into the deaths of the four young men murdered by Port involved big institutions, how they discriminate and how you can campaign to change all that, where people are marginalised. It’s a desire to get involved in things that involve a large section of society.
“Had the police done their job properly three of the four men who tragically died need not have. There was clear evidence of unconscious bias, and we became involved after the criminal trial because families wanted answers.
“It took seven years before we got to the point of the inquests, which vindicated the families and their belief that the police did a wholly inadequate job.”
For Mr Hudgell, also known for his time in the chair at Hull KR, it has been a journey from local to national prominence, from council estate to Court of Appeal.
Brought up by his grandparents in Seventies east Hull, he said he was advised to “do your best and find a job through a trade or a scholarship”.
He failed at school but then qualified via night school, securing his first job in a private practice with Max Gold, where the opportunity later arose to take them on two offices, and 800 clients, in 1997.
He insists the business mantra remains exactly the same as it did on day one – an approach which has brought repeated rewards and recognition, with a naming in the Times Best 200 Law Firms list for the past two years on top of the personal accolades which have also included Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year in 2021.
Successfully challenging the wrongful convictions of hundreds of former subpostmasters - people prosecuted by the Post Office over a 15-year period based upon evidence from a faulty accounting system – has brought great acclaim.
So far Neil and his team have helped 58 people to clear their names, with many more to follow the same path to the Court of Appeal, and a Public Inquiry set to begin next month.
“It means a 75-year-old can stop working and relax a little after being treated so badly 20 years ago after going to prison. That person can now enjoy some comforts and security,” Neil says in reflection.
“Client relations are key. You’ve got to have your client’s back and they have to be confident you can do the job for them. That has been the key ingredient from day one until now. Put the client first, have real empathy and put them at ease.”
Reflecting on his achievements, he said: “I still like to do a shift.
“We try to do the best job we can and get the best outcomes. I take a lot of pride in the fact that we get a lot of clients who know about us because of what we do.
“My 100 per cent goal at all times is a proper outcome and a satisfied client in every case. So it’s the same approach today in 2022 as it was on day one in 1997.”
