The leading personal injury lawyer calls for the return of real access to justice & discusses his life in & out of the office
Patrick Allen is senior partner of Hodge Jones & Allen LLP, a member of the Law Society Civil Justice Committee and a deputy district judge. He qualified as a solicitor in 1977 when he founded Hodge Jones & Allen in Camden with Henry Hodge and Peter Jones.
Patrick specialises in complex personal injury and multi-party cases and has a long-standing involvement with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
What was your route into the profession?
In 1971 I was attending a demonstration in Oxford against the Monday Club, when a friend next to me was pulled out of the line and charged with assaulting the police. This was a completely fabricated charge. I attended court as a witness and my friend was eventually acquitted. In the process I discovered that the law was not just about wills and conveyancing but also concerned with rights of the citizen and liberty and could be used to help progressive causes. I was determined from that point to become a lawyer to fight against injustice and use the law constructively to improve people’s lives.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far?
Leading the team carrying out investigations into Gulf War Syndrome (GWS). We formed a team of lawyers and scientists to look at all possible causes of GWS and to establish whether any constituted legal causes of action against the government. There were many meetings with veterans’ groups, experts, government officials and ministers. We eventually produced a definitive legal opinion and scientific analysis of every significant peer reviewed article from around the world relating to the causes of GWS. Unfortunately, the evidence did not support the continuation of legal aid for progressing the claims. We asked the government to improve the medical services available to veterans (which they are now doing) and to set up a scheme to compensate those who were undoubtedly made ill as a result of their service in the Gulf (which they declined to do).
Which person within the legal profession inspires you most?
Michael Mansfield QC who has worked tirelessly in the cause of justice since he was called to the bar in 1967. He has been involved in just about every significant case since then and is still at it at the age of 73. He is an amazing example to every aspiring human rights lawyer.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you choose as an alternate career?
Pianist (Jazz or Classical) or professional windsurfer.
Who is your favourite fictional lawyer?
Horace Rumpole, the creation of John Mortimer. I worked with John Mortimer on a murder trial in 1974 when I was an articled clerk. Our client was acquitted at the Old Bailey, assisted by forensic evidence on woollen fibres. John put much of his professional experience into the Rumpole stories. Rumpole is a brave and fearless advocate, with a healthy disdain for pompous judges, the authorities and his head of Chambers. He relentlessly and successfully pursues justice for his clients against bent coppers and prosecution minded judges. He loves the challenge of forensic evidence and is particularly good on blood spots. The sub-plots involving clerks, members of chambers and his formidable wife Hilda (she who must be obeyed) are intricately weaved into the main stories.
What change would you make to the profession?
Unify the legal profession to create a common entry for solicitors and barristers and abolish the distinction, create a career judiciary so that judges can be recruited and specialise from an early stage in their careers. Effect real access to justice by reversing all the changes introduced by LASPO and creating an effective legal aid scheme (like the one we used to have).
How do you relax?
Playing the piano, windsurfing and growing vegetables. I took up the piano fairly late in life and am trying to make up for lost time. I passed my grade 8 exam last year. Ideally I would become in due course a combination of Bill Evans and Alfred Brendel. In windsurfing I am still trying to produce a perfect carved gybe. In the vegetable patch I recently produced an extremely large carrot which I have photographed and am proud to show it to anyone on my ipad.
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