Who? Jane Wright, 48-year-old partner and head of personal injury at Irwin Mitchell in Leeds.


Why is she in the news? There has been widespread media coverage of the early release from prison of former world champion boxer, Naseem Hamed, who severely injured two of her clients in a motor accident on 2 May 2005. Anthony and Claire Burgin's car was hit head-on by Hamed's Mercedes McLaren, which was travelling at 90mph and was on the wrong side of the road. Every major bone in Mr Burgin's body was fractured and he was left fighting for his life. Mrs Burgin, also badly hurt, suffered psychological trauma. On 12 May 2006, Hamed pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and received a 15-month sentence. He was released on 4 September after just four months under the Home Office's home detention curfew scheme. A condition of his early release is that he will have to wear an electronic tag. Ms Wright is pursuing a claim for compensation on Mr Burgin's behalf, which has yet to be valued.



Background: Ms Wright was formerly a qualified physiotherapist, specialising in spinal and head injuries. Towards the end of the 1980s, she enrolled at Manchester Polytechnic (as it then was) for her common professional examination and Law Society Finals. She joined Irwin Mitchell as a trainee in 1990, qualified in 1992, and became a partner in 1995.



Route to the case: 'The Burgins came to us because we have acknowledged expertise in cases of multiple and serious injury. We're also used to high-profile cases that are likely to attract the attention of the media.'



Thoughts on the case: 'This was not an unusual catastrophic injury case as such, but the fact that the defendant was a celebrity raised its profile and ensured coverage in the national and local media right from the start. Naz is a local boy come good, with a very visible presence in Sheffield. He'd had speeding convictions before, but as the judge said, this was a very dangerous act and could have caused multiple deaths. Let's hope lessons have been learned and that the Burgins can put their lives together again. The Burgins feel the circus atmosphere of his departure from prison was insensitive and crass, as did the press. But they are private people and just want to put this behind them and get on with their lives.'



Dealing with the media: 'My clients are incredibly private and felt quite intimidated by the media. So Irwin Mitchell's strategy was to be always available to the media, providing them with all the information they wanted so as to shield the Burgins from attention. I dealt with red-tops, broadsheets, TV and radio, and found the diversity of approach quite fascinating. Some wanted just the celebrity angle, others wanted a view on tagging and the curfew scheme. Exhausting, but interesting.'