APIL showers

In taking over as president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) from the outspoken Ian Walker, Frances McCarthy certainly has a hard act to follow.But Ms McCarthy, a 43-year-old partner at London firm Pattinson & Brewer, is determined to make her own mark on APIL, with a clear view of what it can achieve during her one or two years as president (APIL presidents can stand for re-election, as Mr Walker did).First she addresses funding.

'There is a need for someone to stand up and say that there isn't any,' she says.

Apart from clinical negligence cases, legal aid has now been replaced by conditional fee agreements in personal injury (PI) cases.

Ms McCarthy admits that the battle to retain legal aid in PI cases may have been lost, but she is keen to 'preserve something from the government'.

The state has indicated it will continue to fund cases of 'public importance', and Ms McCarthy is keen to make sure that APIL ensures that 'importance' is defined properly.

'Take the case of Ben Smolden [the teenager badly injured during a school rugby match whose case had ramifications for referees' responsibilities].

His case could not have been taken on without legal aid.' Terry Lee, the lawyer who ran the case, recently won APIL's first outstanding achievement award.'We need to make sure that important cases do find funding,' Ms McCarthy says, adding: 'PI is at the forefront of changing the law.'She also wants liaison with the Lord Chancellor's Department to continue and grow, and she has plans to assist in setting up new protocols that will cover occupational diseases such as repetitive strain injury and asbestosis.

The relationship between APIL and legislators - originally, she admits, one of 'us and them' - has matured through APIL's assistance in drafting the personal injury pre-action protocol, in which Ms McCarthy was personally involved.On the issue of quantum, she says APIL will continue to lobby for the Law Commission's recommendations for raising the levels of damages to be introduced in full.

Ms McCarthy also hopes APIL will achieve clarification on the law relating to maritime accidents, and campaign to set up a central disaster bureau to deal with accidents such as the sinking of the Marchioness.Ms McCarthy seems to have the mettle to carry on the fight following Ian Walker's term.

And she is also at the forefront of bringing forward the next generation of PI lawyers.

She says: 'My children are the types who get into friends' cars and think, "has this got side impact protectors?".'