THOMPSONS Personal Injury Solicitors staged simultaneous press conferences for the first time ever, to maximise coverage of a landmark Court of Session decision affecting its clients.
The media was invited to briefings in the firm’s Glasgow and Aberdeen offices, held just 30 minutes after publication of the decisions of three Court of Session Appeal Judges who backed the Scottish Parliament’s law giving victims of pleural plaques the legal right to pursue their claims for compensation.
Senior partner, Frank Maguire, chaired the press conference in Glasgow, while partner, Chris Gordon, briefed North-east media from his offices in Aberdeen.
Mr Maguire said: “Staging simultaneous press conferences 150-miles apart involved a fair bit of planning, but we have been delighted with the results.
“Politically, this was a very important judgment, because the insurance companies were challenging the Scottish Parliament’s right to legislate on behalf of its electorate.
“It was also very important to our clients. Thompsons handle 90 per cent of pleural plaques cases in Scotland and we have almost 1,000 clients who are directly affected by the court’s decision.
“We were pleased the ruling went in our favour, but sadly the insurance companies ignored our call not to prolong the victims suffering and decided to launch yet another appeal.
“Some 40 of our clients with pleural plaques have already died while the legal wrangling has gone on for the last four years, and I am afraid others may not live to see the matter resolved.”
Chris Gordon said: “Essentially, Frank and I were delivering the same message in Glasgow and Aberdeen – welcoming the decision and urging the insurance industry to respect the will of the Scottish Parliament.
“Since we opened our Aberdeen office two years ago, we have received tremendous support from the local media, and we wanted to ensure there was a good strong local angle to help them project this particular story.
“I was able to highlight the fact that asbestos related disease is a growing issue in the North East, contrary to the perception that is mainly focused on the Central Belt, and one of our local clients was there to explain how he is affected.”
John Scott, who manages Press and PR for the firm, said: “We thought that people would cover one or other of the press conferences.
“However some organisations like the Daily Record and STV covered both while others used agency material from both events.
“That meant we got far better coverage than if we had only had one press conference.”
End
Note to Editors:
1. Thompsons Solicitors is one of Scotland’s leading personal injury specialists law firms, offering No Win No Fee services to clients who suffer personal injuries, caused by a car accident, a car crash, a road traffic accident or whose lives have been blighted by industrial diseases.
2. Last year, Thompsons won over £1m a week in compensation for its clients.
3. Thompsons Solicitors won the prestigious Law Firm of the Year award at the Scottish Legal Awards 2011, their third industry accolade in the last three years.
4. Thompsons specialise in delivering legal services which provide the answers clients seek, ensuring those responsible are held accountable, and where appropriate lessons are learned to prevent recurrence.
5. Thompsons has an impressive record in mounting prosecutions where merited and representing clients in a wide range of public inquiries.
6. Find out more at Thompsons website: www.thompsons-scotland.co.uk
MEDIA RELEASE posted by John Scott Communications. You too can post media releases on www.allmediascotland.com, by emailing here.
Contact: John Scott
Phone: 07917-729-201
Email: johnd.scott@johnscottcommunications.com
Website: http://www.thompsons-scotland.co.uk
