Professional Support

Raana Lowery trained as a solicitor with Express Solicitors 10 years ago before returning as a consultant solicitor and now a Partner and Head of Professional Support. With a breadth of experience practising in civil litigation and personal injury law alongside almost a decade of freelance law school lecturing, she brings to the firm an understanding of how to expand knowledge in order to get the best results for clients.

Raana has carried many positions of responsibility with legal organisations including the Manchester Trainee Solicitors Group; Manchester Law Society; and Junior Lawyers Division and is a keen mentor of junior lawyers. Raana was awarded Trainee Solicitor of the Year at the ‘2014 Manchester Legal Awards’ and was runners up Legal Professional of the Year at the ‘Manchester Young Talent Awards’ the same year.

When asked about her role at Express Solicitors Raana said: ‘helping people was the reason I became a solicitor, unoriginal but true. Working at Express Solicitors means I am working for a leading firm who are genuinely committed to helping their clients and looking after their staff. I feel incredibly appreciated and valued here. The focus on developing staff with training and support is proof that the firm wants everyone to be doing their very best for injured people’.

Manchester born and bred, Raana completed her Law Degree and Legal Practice Course in Manchester and has lived in leafy Didsbury for 15 years. She has two young daughters and when she’s not running around after them, she enjoys swimming and DIY.

David Small is a Partner at Express Solicitors, having joined the firm in May 2018. David specialises in Professional Negligence and Personal Injury claims.

When asked what David enjoys about his role, he commented “I enjoy achieving compensation for victims of civil wrongs. I’m not the best but I’m a good listener – I hope I’m empathetic whilst being objective and I try always to see the wood for the trees and do the things needed to bring results for clients.”

David has worked as a Consultant Solicitor from 1999 until 2018, working in various partnerships previous to that. He also has a Bsc in Pure Chemistry.

Julie Pearson is a Compliance Manager in the Professional Support Department, under the supervision of the Head of Department, Raana Lowery. Julie is a Law Society Accredited Risk and Compliance Practitioner (Advanced level). Julie joined the firm in September 2018. Julie has had extensive training in personal injury law, having spent in excess of twenty years working at Manchester law firms as a Personal Injury Litigator where the cases she dealt with gradually increased in complexity and value.

She has taken great care in getting to grips with medical terminology and gained a self-taught qualification through the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR). This has given Julie an excellent understanding of injuries sustained by clients enabling her to gain success in claims involving soft-tissue injuries and making every effort to maximise client damages’ one such case reported in Kemp & Kemp Volume 3, Section F: Spine and Ribs, F9-094 Kelleway v Wade.

Julie has also dealt with fractures, dislocations, ligament ruptures, extensive facial and body scarring, anxiety and PTSD, and more unusual cases such as Marfan syndrome where the accident affected the Claimant’s heart and surrounding tissues. She has also been successful in pursuing claims against an automatism defence and has a 100% success rate for detailed assessment of costs. Julie has an ethos of ‘getting things right the first time’ which has led her to the role that she now fulfills where compliance with regulation is key; describing it as a ‘feeling of coming home’. Julie takes pride in her approach to attention to detail, which is essential in her current role.

Above all, she wants to be of service in an ever-changing personal injury environment, where passing on her knowledge of how law firms operate in the specialism of personal injury may be of benefit to the experience of Claimants, staff and management

Tanya joined Express in 2016 as an ICT Trainer having gained a degree in Computer Networking and previously worked as a qualified teacher in schools across Manchester.

“I am a qualified teacher with years of experience on dealing with every type of learner, when I am in the classroom I can quickly decide on the pace and adapt to my audience. I think without my teacher training and experience I wouldn’t be able to deliver as well.”

When asked what she most enjoys about her role, Tanya replied: “I really enjoy being able to work with every department of the firm which helps me to get to know everyone a bit better. Teaching is what I feel I do best and when I hear feedback that what I’ve thought is being used to improve the efficiency of their work I can’t help but smile.”

Eleanor Turton is a Associate Solicitor in the Employer’s Liability claims department, having joined the firm in March 2017.

When asked what she enjoys most about her role at Express, Eleanor responded: “I enjoy getting good results for my clients. It is so satisfying settling a claim, and knowing that the damages obtained for the client will help make a real difference to their lives.”

Eleanor specialises in Employer’s Liability claims and describes her extensive experience as being her main attribute for success, having worked for both the claimant and defendant. Eleanor further commented, “This has allowed me to have a good understanding as to how both sides work, which I consider gives me a tactical advantage when negotiating liability and quantum.”

Before joining Express Solicitors, Eleanor completed her LLB Degree at University of Wales, Aberystwyth before then going on to complete her LPC at The College of Law, Chester.

Stephanie Warlow is an Associate Solicitor in the Professional Support department at Express Solicitors. Stephanie initially joined the firm’s New Client Team in July 2014, transferring to assist Daniel Slade for 3 and a half years before qualifying as a Solicitor in the Occupier’s Liability Department in July 2018. Stephanie transferred to the Quality and Progression team in January 2020 to take up a role in compliance.

Stephanie’s role in the Quality and Progression team is to ensure that cases are quickly progressing in compliance with legal, regulatory and internal requirements. Her experience as a file handler has helped prepare her for the current role and she helps file handlers ensure that the best level of service is provided to our clients whilst achieving a swift and favourable conclusion in their claims. Stephanie also assists our Data Protection Officer in investigating data protection matters within the firm.

Before joining Express Solicitors, Stephanie achieved a 1st Class Honours Law degree at Manchester Metropolitan University and subsequently achieved a Distinction Diploma in Legal Practice at the University of Law. She has also worked voluntarily as an advisor at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Wigan.

Karl Young has worked at Express Solicitors for over 8.5 years, playing a vital role in both client representation and the Professional Support Department. With his wealth of experience and dedication to excellence, Karl has contributed significantly to the firm’s continued success.

As a seasoned professional in the legal field, Karl possesses a deep understanding of the intricacies of personal injury law. He has leveraged his expertise not only to provide comprehensive legal advice and representation for our clients but also to support Solicitors and Trainee Solicitors here at Express Solicitors.

Within the Professional Support Department, Karl plays a crucial role in ensuring that the entire firm stays up-to-date with the latest legal developments, precedents, and best practices. His role involves delivering policies and procedure training to staff as well as 6 weeks of training to our new graduates during our very popular Graduate Scheme.

Karl’s collaborative nature and willingness to share his knowledge have made him a go-to resource within the firm. He actively mentors’ junior lawyers, providing guidance and support as they navigate complex legal matters. His contributions to training programs assist in elevating the professional growth of his peers ensuring the firm always has the best lawyers on hand to assist our clients with every aspect of their claim.

Karl leads with passionate and client-centric approach, as he strives to provide personalized solutions tailored to unique needs. His strong communication skills enable him to explain legal concepts in a clear and accessible manner.

Kristian Horsfall joined Express Solicitors In March 2022.

Kristian is a Compliance Associate working within the Professional Support Department. He is the firm’s COLP (Compliance Officer for Legal Practice), DPO (Data Protection Officer) and Court Liaison Officer.

Kristian has experience across the whole spectrum of Personal Injury having previously fee earned for 8 years. During that time he brought and concluded over 700 claims for clients who had suffered injuries in Road Traffic Accidents, Employer’s Liability, Occupiers’ Liability, Medical Negligence and CICA matters

Scott joined Express Solicitors in May 2022. Having worked in law firms around Greater Manchester and Lancashire he has gained some 27 years of experience dealing with personal injury claims including RTA, Employers and Public Liability, and Clinical Negligence.

The majority of Scott’s time over those years was spent acting as a Defendant for many of the large insurers and large logistics companies who were either self-insured or insured with a significant deductible.

His most recent Fee Earning role was acting for Claimants including a catastrophic injury claim. Scott feels that it is now time to utilise the experience he has gathered in a compliance capacity where his knowledge will benefit others and the firm.

Yasmeen joined Express Solicitors as an IT Trainer and possesses a degree in Computing and PGCE.

“I am a motivated, commercially astute and performance driven lecturer and certified trainer, with a passion for delivering a high standard of learning. I have worked as a lecturer and corporate trainer for five years prior to starting at Express Solicitors. With excellent communication skills, I am able to deliver to a wide range of learners, adapting to suit individual learning needs, focusing on knowledge, skills and professional standards needed for the business. I thrive on feedback and enjoy seeing results from successful training sessions.”

Julia has over 20 years’ training experience across different sectors and has worked for Companies such as Pareto Law, Talk Talk and Astra Zeneca. Julia’s role is designing and delivering training on areas such as, communication skills, customer journey and sales techniques, as well as supporting the IT training department.

Julia has a passion for training and loves watching people grow and seeing great results within the business. When asked what she likes best about her role, Julia commented “I care about the client’s journey from beginning to end. I believe that everyone within a business has their part to play in making the clients experience the best it can be. My role is to help others realise their full potential.”

Julia’s biggest achievement to date involved writing and delivering a training course for customer service excellence for over 500 employees in the insurance sector which won a Training Journal award for learner transfers. Julia become a trainer when she worked for British Airways and she says ‘I have not looked back since’.  Julia has 10 years’ experience in the travel industry and then moved to the insurance and telecoms sector.

Amie joined Express in November 2020 as Personal Assistant (PA) to the Partner and Head of Professional Support. With over 20 years of experience as a File Handler in personal injury and clinical negligence claims, she brings extensive knowledge and expertise to her role.

Amie’s role has expanded since she joined Express and she has taken on the role of Training Coordinator in addition to her PA duties.

When asked what she likes best about her role, Amie commented “I enjoy interacting with the various departments within the company and particularly enjoy welcoming new starters to Express at the beginning of their journey with us as well as providing training on how to navigate our case management system”