Biography
I've worked with the firm for 19 years, and have been a Partner for the last nine years. I specialise in claims relating to negligent medical treatment. For over 10 years, I've been both a member of the Law Society Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme and an accredited Senior Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
During my career, I've recovered millions in compensation for clients. I've been involved in high profile cases such as the indexation litigation. This decided the appropriate index for all periodical payment awards in personal injury and medical negligence cases. I was also heavily involved in the vCJD cases where claims were made to a government no fault compensation scheme.
I have a particular interest in cases relating to child and adult brain injury, spinal injuries and delayed diagnosis of cancer cases.
What inspired you to get into law?
I enjoy problem solving and love working with new people. I also particularly enjoy working with clinical experts through my focus on medical negligence work.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your role?
I always wanted to help people and get great job satisfaction in securing compensation for injured clients and their families. I also know that finding answers to often long-held questions is of huge importance to clients, and I work hard to obtain those answers – I find it rewarding to help people in that way too.
What do you like about working at Irwin Mitchell?
I enjoy working with a huge variety of different specialist lawyers and being able to work collaboratively across different teams to solve problems for our clients.
What do you do away from the office?
I enjoy walking and love being in the peak district or the lake district. I've taken part in a number of charity challenges raising money for The Child Brain Injury Trust (trekking part of the Great Wall of China in 2016), Headway (trekking the Lares trail in Peru in 2018) and Peeps (climbing Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa in 2019).
Testimonials
"Jennifer Cawthorne always goes the extra mile for her clients." – Legal 500, 2021 (Leading Individual)
"Always very helpful" and "always keeps clients up-to-date with the case." – Chambers & Partners, 2021 (Leading Individual – Band 1)
"She's extraordinarily calm in the most difficult situations and she prepares cases well. Her core expertise is in birth and spinal injury claims, while she also has experience in fatal accident cases." – Chambers & Partners, 2020
"She doesn't miss a thing and is always one step ahead...she puts our minds at ease and explains processes clearly. She is also very compassionate." - Chambers & Partners 2019
"She has very good client handling skills, very sound judgments and a steadfast commitment to her clients' cases." – Legal 500
"From day one, Jennifer has been fantastic with her help, advice, and technical understanding of my wife's issues. A very friendly person and always available to respond to any questions or concerns, even out of office hours." - Andrew Robinson, 5* Trustpilot review
"Jennifer especially was so easy to talk to, whilst being very professional, I felt I could ask her about things I didn't quite understand, and not feel stupid. I would recommend her 100 percent." Lynn Turner, client
"She is praised for being "always very calm and careful in the way she prepares cases". Sources say that she "always explains everything thoroughly - and in plain English rather than legalese", and commend her ability to "make a daunting prospect less so." - Chambers & Partners, 2018
"We've been supported over a number of years by Jennifer at Irwin Mitchell. She has always been professional, understanding and empathetic, keeping us fully up to date at all times, and explaining legal terms in a friendly and easy-to-understand way. We would highly recommend Jennifer and the wider team at Irwin Mitchell, and thank them for their continued support." - Sarah Land, 5*, Trustpilot review
"Jennifer Cawthorne who represented me gained a successful outcome for myself and my two sons at a Joint Settlement Meeting in November 2020 which will help considerably in providing financial security. Jennifer Cawthorne and her team showed compassion and professionalism throughout the process which also enabled me to get the answers I needed regarding the below standard psychiatric care my husband received prior to his death." - 5* Trustpilot review
"We've been supported by Irwin Mitchell for over three years now, and Jennifer has always been very helpful, empathetic and always kept us up to date with our case. We're very thankful for all the work you do for us and we would definitely recommend your great experience and knowledge." - Nikoleta, 5* Trustpilot review
