Irwin Mitchell partner Emma Rush talks making a difference, the road to partnership and her advice for students
“Acting for clients who have suffered life-changing injuries, and seeing the positive impact our work has on that individual, is incredibly rewarding,” says Emma Rush, medical negligence partner at Irwin Mitchell. She recalls acting for a client who had had an above-knee amputation following a failure to diagnose an underlying medical issue, “We were able to secure an admission of liability from the defendant which meant our client received interim payments and could buy a prosthetic limb and go on to rehabilitation. I really saw the impact my work was having on that person’s quality of life.”
A first-generation university graduate, Rush studied law at the University of Birmingham where she met Irwin Mitchell at a careers talk. She completed a vacation placement at the firm, alongside placements at two other larger corporate law firms. “The culture at IM aligned with what I was looking for,” she recalls, “This really shone through during my work experience. It was quite different from the larger corporate firms I did placements with.”
Following this work experience, Rush’s interest in medical negligence was beginning to form. “I already knew that my area of interest was in providing legal advice to individuals rather than an entity,” she says. “In particular I was interested in acting for individuals who had been injured, having seen from my work experience the impact this kind of work can have.” Rush sat in serious injury, uninsured loss recovery and medical negligence during her training contract. She stayed on in the medical negligence team for a fourth seat and qualified into the team in 2009. “What I loved was the interplay between learning about medicine as well as law,” Rush recalls. She also discovered a surprising love of litigation, “At uni, I thought I would be all for non-contentious law because I don’t really like arguing!” she laughs. “But actually, one of my favourite parts of the job is liaising with the other side.”
I am interested to hear about some of the complex work Irwin Mitchell’s medical negligence team works on. “I have a particular interest in acting for babies who have suffered hypoxic injuries at birth or had complications in the neonatal period which have resulted in cerebral palsy,” Rush tells me. “Those cases are really quite challenging. If parents come to us when their babies are quite young, it can be very difficult to look forward and predict what support they will need as an adult,” she explains. This means that in some cases, court proceedings are put on hold until a clearer medical assessment of the child’s condition can be made. “I had a case recently where we stayed proceedings for nearly 10 years,” Rush says. “It was impossible to determine what the child’s cognitive function would look like until her executive skills had developed around age 12.” Cases like these are long and complex, but they can be valuable training opportunities for Irwin Mitchell’s rookies: “I have trainees working with me on cases like these and making important contributions. At IM you get exposure to complexity really early on.”
So, what are the skills junior lawyers will need to thrive in this practice area? “The first thing would be empathy,” Rush tells me. “Clients often come to you in a dire situation.” However, it is essential that this empathy is productive:
“The ability to be empathetic but still removed from the situation is important. Clients need you to remain objective and provide appropriate legal advice. You will inevitably build relationships with your clients and it is important to provide this support while maintaining an element of separation.”
Rush also stresses the importance of organisation and proactively managing cases. Acknowledging that this is relevant in every area of law she says, “This is especially important in medical negligence as you have to react to unpredictable medical developments. You might need to make an urgent application to the court for an interim payment because your client’s needs have changed.” To cope well with situations like these, good work management skills are essential.
Another skill for aspiring medical negligence lawyers to brush up on is communication. “Because we deal with complex medical issues alongside complex legal issues, it’s particularly important to break these topics down into clear, non-jargon language when speaking to your client,” Rush explains. “Being able to speak in a straightforward way is really key.”
Rush is Irwin Mitchell’s training principal, taking responsibility for the firm’s trainees across all their offices and liaising with the early careers team as well as making strategic decisions about the firm’s training contracts. I ask Rush what inspired her to take on this role. “I was a trainee here myself,” she responds. “Now that I am in a senior position in the firm, I wanted to give back by investing in our junior talent.” She reflects on her journey from trainee to partner at Irwin Mitchell: “IM is a firm which is serious about homegrown talent. I have stayed on at the firm because they’ve invested in me and I’m proud to be an ambassador for our business today.”
I am curious to hear about Rush’s journey to partnership at Irwin Mitchell and her advice for those considering a similar path. “You definitely get out what you put in,” she tells me. “If you are committed to IM as a business, the firm puts the same commitment back into you.” She continues:
“When I was more junior, I made a real effort to throw myself into as many things as possible, particularly things which were outside my comfort zone. I also worked hard and I enjoy what I do. This was met with a lot of support from the firm. My supervisors gave me valuable advice on how to improve my skills to get to the next stage of my career.”
To wrap up our discussion, I ask Rush for one piece of careers advice she thinks everyone should hear. “Don’t be frightened,” she responds. “Immerse yourself in the law, if that’s what you’re interested in, and don’t be frightened to give things a go. It’s important to be able to make mistakes and learn from them. That’s what will make you a great lawyer at the end of the day.”
Emma Rush will be speaking at ‘The Big Commercial Awareness Themes of 2024-25 — with DWF, Goodwin Procter, Irwin Mitchell, Lewis Silkin, Morrison Foerster, TLT and ULaw’, taking place virtually on Tuesday 12 November. Apply now to attend.
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