James Hurd

James is described by the Legal 500 as a Leading Junior on the Northern Circuit in relation to both Personal Injury and Employment work. 

James undertakes high value personal injury litigation on behalf of both Claimants and Defendants. He is often instructed in cases of severe injuries (including brain injuries), requiring expert evidence and the drafting of extensive and complex schedules and counter schedules of loss. He deals with complex trials, as well as advising on paper and in conference.    

James is regularly instructed by insurers in relation to fraud cases.

He has a vast amount of experience in advising and conducting road traffic trials involving:

• Staged accidents/exaggerated claims & phantom passengers,
• Fraud rings and linked accident claims,
• Late notification of claims defences,
• Bogus/opportunistic injury claims, 
• Low speed impact defences,
• Disputed causation/inconsistent medical records/credibility issues,
• Intelligence gathering and inconsistent social media evidence,  
• Exceptions to QOWCS, fundamental dishonesty and Section 57 of the Criminal Justice & Courts Act 2015.

James also acts on behalf of travel/tour operators defending fraud allegations in holiday illness litigation and accidents abroad.

James mainly undertakes Respondent work in the Employment Tribunal, with a small amount of Claimant work. He has considerable expertise in dealing with complex discrimination and whistle-blowing ET cases, especially in the public sector

James frequently advises clients on issues that span both employment and personal injury law, such as claims for psychiatric injury in the workplace, stress at work, and bullying/harassment claims pursuant to the Harassment Act 1997.

Representative examples of James's personal injury and employment practice can be downloaded from the CVs set out above.  James combines his technical ability with practicality - always having a strong focus on the commercial realities of any situation.  He is both approachable and friendly and prides himself on his excellent reputation for providing a high standard of customer service and an efficient turnaround on paperwork.    

As an accredited public access barrister, James is able to accept advice and advocacy work directly from individuals or businesses through the Public Access Scheme, and is happy to discuss fixed fee or retainer rates for such work.

As part of a continuing commitment to building and enhancing client relationships, James regularly gives training seminars to clients on legal developments.  He is happy to devise bespoke training, tailored to clients’ requirements, to deliver at their businesses.

Outside of work, James enjoys creative writing, music, football, classic cars and motorcycles, cinema, and travel. James is a published author, with his debut novel, 'A Bold Deceiver', being set in Manchester in the 1990's (see http://www.abolddeceiver.co.uk for further details) 

PRESCRIBED INFORMATION

James Hurd is a practising barrister, who is regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Details of information held by the BSB about James Hurd can be found here.

James Hurd’s clerks will happily provide no obligation quotations for all legal services that he provides. The Employment clerks contact details can be found here, and the Personal Injury clerks contact details can be found here. It is most common for James Hurd to undertake Court or Tribunal for a fixed fee or brief fee plus additional refresher days. For advisory work, drafting and conferences it is most commonly charged at an hourly rate, although fixed fees are available. Conditional Fee Agreements will be considered in cases with favourable prospects of success. James Hurd will typically return paperwork within 14 days, however professional commitments, complexity and volume of documentation can affect these approximate timescales.