Lawyer in the news

Who? Laurence Vick, 48-year-old head of clinical negligence at 18-partner Exeter firm Michelmores.Why is he in the news? Mr Vick is the joint lead solicitor (with Bristol-based Clarke Willmott & Clarke partner Mervyn Fudge) to the Bristol Heart Children Action Group, representing 300 families of children who died or were seriously brain damaged after undergoing heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary between 1984 and 1995.

The official inquiry into the deaths was published last week and called for an overhaul of NHS culture and systems to root out unsafe medical practices across the health service.

Mr Vick has also represented 100 families - 30 of which are still outstanding - in their litigation claims against the hospital trust.Background: LLB at Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) 1975-78, followed by Law Society finals in 1979 at Guildford College of Law.

He qualified with Birmingham firm Rowley & Blewitts in 1981, when he moved to Coventry firm Haxby Jarvis.

In 1981, Haxby Jarvis merged to form Brindley Twist Tafft & Jarvis, and in 1994 Mr Vick joined Tozers in Exeter.

After five years there he moved to Michelmores, and in January 2001 he became a partner.Route to case: 'The first case was referred to me by Action for Victims of Medical Accidents, a victim support group.'Thoughts on the case: 'I have a family myself, and it has been impossible to deal with these cases without being personally affected.

The mental trauma that these families have gone through has been unimaginable - greater than normal bereavements as many feel that somehow they've let their children down.

The litigation is very unusual in my experience, as the families' motives for bringing claims aren't financial, but more a desperate desire to find out any information about what happened to their children.

What's also interesting is that the families almost wanted the litigation to fail - they wanted the hospital to be found not responsible for the deaths, so they would know that the deaths were unavoidable and they could have done nothing to prevent them.'Dealing with the media: 'Almost all the coverage has been positive, and I've greatly enjoyed the experience.

I've found all the reporters sympathetic and well informed.'Victoria MacCallum