Travel specialist Paul McClorry joins Hudgell Solicitors

Paul McClorry, a travel litigation and serious accidents abroad claims specialist, has joined Hudgell Solicitors’ senior management team.

McClorry, who has previously headed up travel litigation teams at Pannone and Slater & Gordon, has been recruited to develop Hudgells’ travel litigation business, assisting victims of serious accidents abroad.

He has a broad range of expertise, having represented people who have been injured while on holidays in road traffic accidents, on aeroplanes, ships, trains and coaches across the world. His work has seen him handle cases for many people who have sustained catastrophic injuries, and for families who have lost loved ones and in group action claims. The firm says that this has given him a worldwide and extensive knowledge of complex jurisdiction and applicable law issues.

McClorry started his legal career in 1999 and joined Pannone in 2005, spending nine years with the firm before it was acquired by Slater & Gordon in 2014. With travel litigation teams coming together from a number of acquisitions at that time he was selected to head the department, managing a team of more than 30 people.

This work has seen him gain international recognition, developing strong contacts with lawyers and insurers across Europe and America.

Speaking about his appointment, McClorry said: “I have been aware of Hudgell’s growth and development for some time, and Neil Hudgell [the firm’s managing director] and Amanda Stevens [its chief executive] are both very well respected across the industry, so I was excited when the opportunity to join the firm arose,” he said.

“When I discussed plans with Neil and Amanda I was impressed with their ambitions for future growth in their strategy, their clear vision for developing new key areas of business, and I, like many others, have been impressed with the calibre of recent new additions to their team, alongside their many long-standing well-respected personal injury and clinical negligence solicitors.”

On his role, he said: “Serious accidents in a foreign country present a myriad of issues and difficulties for victims and their friends and families, and it is very rewarding to be able to provide the legal expertise required to negotiate through the variable international laws and provide clients with the best possible access to the rehabilitation support and damages they need.”

Chief executive Amanda Stevens said that McClorry’s appointment was another significant marker for the firm, adding further recognised industry-leading expertise to the daily offering to clients, and to the senior management team.

“Paul joins us with a wealth of experience, knowledge and understanding of travel claims litigation, importantly in the area of supporting those who suffer serious accidents abroad,” she said.

“He has been involved in ground-breaking cases with regard to deciding upon the applicable law – a vital element of personal injury claims abroad – and is another addition to our senior team who has the high-level experience to not only attract the right sort of cases to our firm, but to also provide another very senior voice at the management table in terms of the continued development and growth of the firm.”

Mark Dugdale