During the 2015 Law Society Excellence Awards, which recognise the most exceptional legal practitioners in their profession, Peter Garsden, a child abuse lawyer, was named Solicitor of the Year for his work representing child abuse victims since 1994.
Peter filed his first claim in 1994 on behalf of an adult who had been sexually abused by personnel at a Cheshire children’s home decades before. That first case grew to include more than 120 claimants, which then moved to Manchester Children’s Homes and 800 claimants. It lasted nearly 15 years and resulted in £5 million in damages for the victims. It is what drove Peter to establish a child abuse department in his single practitioner practise, Abney Garsden McDonald. The firm that joined the QualitySolicitors network had at one time the country’s longest standing dedicated department.
In an interview with Jonathan Rayner of the Law Society Gazette, Peter discussed the highs and lows of his career to date, as well as what it’s like to work as a lawyer acting for abuse victims/survivors.
Best job in the world
Peter informed the Gazette that he believes he has the “best job in the world,” which some may find startling. ‘This line of work is more of a calling than a profession,’ he explained. It is what idealistic law students dream to be when they graduate. To win at any cost, you must have passion, legal expertise, and tenacity. The legal deck is stacked against you, but you can win with hard work, determination, and passion. You have the moral high ground on your side, but you need something more than just the legal facts of the case. To keep going, you need determination, enthusiasm, a fighting spirit, the necessary psychological abilities, and mental resilience.’
Crisis point
Peter noted that being involved in this type of job, dealing with emotionally disturbed victims, can be taxing. He described how, a few years into his first child abuse case, it was ‘almost the end of me’ in 1998. He’d become obsessed with the cases, arriving at work about five or six o’clock every morning and working late into the evening. Peter admitted to reaching a crisis point and ignoring his family, explaining that the firm didn’t have the means or money at the time, and he was performing the work on his own. He learned to distinguish between being a lawyer and a counsellor, and he modified his behaviour to best serve the victim he was representing.
Association of Child Abuse Lawyers
The odds were stacked against Peter in the early years, and he concedes to the Gazette that it ‘tried every sinew of my legal body’. He found himself in a room with a few other lawyers, strategizing how to handle abuse cases from the ground up. There were no precedents to draw on, no literature on the subject, and no recognised specialists in the sector, according to Peter. Even barristers advised him he had “no chance in hell” of winning. Fortunately, they were proven incorrect, and Peter and other lawyers persisted, creating The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (ACAL) in late 1997. ACAL was established for the benefit of the victims. Lawyers, experts, and other professionals who work to secure compensation for physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of children and adults who were abused as children.
To read the full interview in the Law Society Gazette click here.
