Member Article

Two new clinical negligence partners for Manchester's Express Solicitors

Manchester-headquartered Express Solicitors have appointed two new partners to its clinical negligence department.

Formerly a partner with Simpson Millar LLP, Ben Gent heads the clinical negligence team of 11, including seven fee earners and two nurses.

Maria Repanos joins Express Solicitors from Irwin Mitchell where she was an associate working on claimant clinical negligence cases ranging from cerebral palsy to amputations.

Ben brings with him almost 20 years’ legal experience that has seen him successfully take high value cases over £1 million from complaint to trial, as well as managing teams and developing strategy.

A member of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel, Ben qualified as a solicitor advocate in 2013. He has strong links with brain charity Headway as a committee member and fundraiser and was described in Chambers as ‘eminently approachable, savvy and good with his clients’.

Ben said: “Express Solicitors was recommended to me through work and personal connections, then I met James and I was very impressed with the way he runs his business. As a leader he is very open and fair minded and I knew he was the kind of person I’d like to work with. The firm is going places and I want to be part of the team that is making this happen.”

Ranked in this years’ Chambers and Partners as guide as a ‘key individual’ and singled out for ‘her good judgement of cases’, Maria brings eight years’ legal, managerial, marketing and business development experience to the firm. Her role at Express Solicitors will be to handle high value claims involving very serious injuries of maximum severity and complexity.

She said: “I was keen to join a forward thinking, modern and innovative practice, which Express Solicitors certainly is. I’m looking forward to a new challenge and helping to grow the clinical negligence department.”

Managing partner at Express Solicitors, James Maxey said: “Together Ben and Maria bring almost 30 years’ experience to the firm and these senior appointments reflect our commitment to our growing clinical negligence department.

“Both have a great understanding for clients who’ve been let down by the medical profession and are quoted for their skills in Chambers and Partners UK 2014 and Legal 500 2013. We’re delighted to have them on board, not only for their wealth of legal expertise but also their abundance of business acumen.”

Express Solicitors currently comprises 148 employees including 13 partners and 47 earners. The firm specialises in personal injury and accident claims, medical and clinical negligence claims and serious injury cases.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .