Exchange Chambers

Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers, has won the "Barrister of the Year" Award at the Personal Injury Awards 2010.
Bill collected his award at the Millennium Mayfair Hotel in London.
"Bill is an outstanding personal injury barrister and this award is very well deserved," said Hilary Meredith, Chair of the Judging Panel.
"He believes passionately in the rights of those who have suffered catastrophic injury and is a true leader in his field."
The prestigious Barrister of the Year accolade is the second award Bill Braithwaite QC has collected this month, having last week been named as Lawyer Innovator of the Year at the United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum Conference.
Commenting on his awards, Bill Braithwaite QC said:
"I'm absolutely delighted. The Personal Injury Awards provide a unique opportunity to highlight and celebrate the excellence of individuals and organisations across the personal injury claims sector. To be named as the UK's leading personal injury barrister is a real honour."
Bill Braithwaite took silk in 1992, and since then has specialised exclusively in claimants' catastrophic brain and spine injury arising out of all kinds of accidents including road traffic, clinical negligence, sport, leisure and industrial.
He has represented well over 1,000 claimants who have suffered catastrophic brain or spinal injury. This year alone he has finalised cases worth in excess of £52 million.
A prolific author and lecturer, Bill is a former consultant editor of Kemp & Kemp on the Quantum of Damages. He is the author of "Brain and Spine Injuries - the Fight for Justice", and the joint editor of "Medical Aspects of Personal Injury Litigation." He lectured on rehab at the International Brain Injury Forum in 1994, and has been writing and lecturing on this topic ever since.
Bill is an accredited mediator, has written extensively about the advantages of mediation and recently launched a dedicated ADR division at his Chambers.
He has also contributed to two Law Commission consultation papers.
Perhaps Bill's most high profile case this year was the first recorded case in English law of an insurance company challenging a road traffic rescuer over liability.
David Tolley rescued a woman who had crashed her car on the motorway. When attempting to move the car out of the fast lane he was hit by a van, causing horrific injuries.
Legal teams for the insurance companies jointly contested liability, claiming David must accept contributory negligence.
Taking Bill's advice, David remained strong, and the judge awarded 100% of his damages.
Bill has appeared in two major PI cases in the House of Lords, and numerous times in the Court of Appeal. He believes passionately in the rights of those who have suffered catastrophic injuries.
This year, he successfully settled Benjamin E's case. Ben was 11 months old when a car he was travelling in collided with a coach, causing several fatalities and leaving Ben in need of lifelong care.
Ben's mother, Julie, said:
"We first met Bill at a time in our lives when we were at our lowest - we were struggling to come to terms with my son's injuries and had been badly let down by our previous solicitor.
"Bill gave clear, pragmatic advice and guidance, but he never forgot there was a young boy in the middle of it all.
"We're so lucky we had such an amazing legal team who made his rehabilitation possible; achieving a successful settlement so that his care and security is guaranteed for life."
Instructing solicitor Yasmin Ameer said:
"Bill always works tirelessly and passionately to achieve the best quality of life for his clients. When you work on a case with Bill, you know you have the best claimant barrister in the country by your side. He is ahead of his time."
Bill has a track record of innovation.
When he took silk, Bill spent time exploring the multiplier system, and he formed the opinion that the law was weighted heavily against claimants. He drew guidance from David Kemp QC, and started to write and lecture extensively on that topic, arguing that PI lawyers should always use the Ogden Tables, and that the 4.5% discount rate was wrong.
The House of Lords finally decided the issue on the basis for which Bill and David had been arguing for many years. Although that now seems old history, it was a landmark for claimants.
Bill was the first barrister in the UK to obtain a quality assurance certification and has had his own web site for over 10 years (http://www.billbraithwaite.com), which acts as an information portal for injured people and their families. He has also just published the second edition of his book as an e-book.