An unfoiled argument

The post-Callery v Gray battle for the personal injury high ground reached a new level the other week when the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) finally went head to head with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) on the public relations front and engaged its own set of whizzy PR bods.

In some ways, the conditional fee mess has been good for FOIL, which until this happened had zero profile.

APIL's slicker operation had always counted in the claimant solicitors' favour.

FOIL though, despite being much smaller in membership (around 1,500 to APIL's 5,000-plus), is hitting back hard and Obiter was invited to spend 45 sweaty minutes at Beachcroft Wansbroughs with ex-FOIL presidents Andrew Parker and Martin Staples to chew over the House of Lords' ruling in Callery (Mr Parker, a Beachcrofts partner, acted for the defendant insurer).

Their claims to being on the side of social responsibility may ring hollow with many an APIL member, but with their own association's response to Callery being fairly muted, it is round one to FOIL on the spin front at least.

Obiter suspects this is one fight that could get messy.