Michelle Penn

Experience

• I qualified as a solicitor in 1993, joined BLM in 2000 and was made partner in 2003.
• I have specialised in occupational disease claims since 1995 and now head up the occupational disease department in London.
• I was a member of the working party for The Law Society response to the Löfstedt Review.
• I advised The Law Society on the impact of the mesothelioma exception to LASPO to respond to the Ministry of Justice.
• I introduced the annex for mesotheliomas to the Disease and Illness Pre-action Protocol.
• I worked with The Law Society to develop an accreditation scheme for disease claims which was launched in July 2017 and I have since been appointed Chief Assessor of the scheme.
• I advise on policy coverage issues.
• I regularly speak at seminars both externally and internally. I chaired and presented the first short tail seminar aimed at understanding the impact of these claims on the policyholder and their businesses. I also present and train on the issues of fraud/disease and chronic pain.
• Currently I am discussing the possibility of an addendum to the disease and illness Pre-action Protocol to reflect the development in treatments for victims of mesothelioma,

Membership/appointments

• I am a member of the Civil Justice Committee at The Law Society.
• I chaired the working group that reviewed the Disease and Illness Pre-action Protocol
• I was a member of the ABI's Occupational Disease Steering Group.

Significant reported cases

• Hadoulis v Trinitours – RSI/Fibromyalgia case
• King v MSI – March 2012 – Stress/Harassment case
• Goodwin v Bennetts UK Ltd CA 2009 – RSI case