19 November 2024
On November 19, International Men’s Day celebrates worldwide the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities, highlighting positive role models and raising awareness of men’s well-being.
With the theme for 2024 of “positive male role models”, we mark the significance of today by celebrating the achievements and careers of some of the men in our firm and shine a light on some of the rising stars in the hope they in turn can inspire others in the field of law.
Richard Milner, Partner
Rich joined what was Gorman Hamilton back in 1997 as a paralegal, having completed his exempting law degree at Northumbria Uni. He confesses to not really knowing what he wanted to do for his career whilst at school until he was inspired by his Head of 6th Form to try his hand at law!
Rich qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and made partner in 2004. Whilst most know him as the partner for credit hire, he spent many years in personal injury where his biggest settlement was a £1million compensation package for a brain injured child back in 2008. Since his personal injury days, Rich has proudly led the credit hire team and has been involved in some of the defining cases in this contentious area of law, several of which reached the Court of Appeal. In 2023, he also took on the role of partner for marketing, and he works alongside the marketing manager overseeing all of True’s branding and marketing activities.
Outside of work, Rich is married with 2 grown up children who have flown the nest, and he recently relocated to the Lake District where he spends his weekends on his passion for fitness. In July he completed a 100k ultra marathon and has previously participated in Ironman UK and other endurance events. He readily acknowledges that this could be a mid-life crisis.
Dale Milligan, Business Development Manager
A working dad of 2 from Wallsend, Dale has been with True Solicitors since 2009.
He started his journey in the uninsured loss recovery team, before moving onto the personal injury team where he then spent several years. Having built a strong rapport with introducers, he began learning his trade in the business development team 8 years ago.
Since then, the landscape of the business has changed dramatically with the introduction of the road traffic accident reforms proving to be a massive challenge to overcome. He was instrumental in the introduction of the housing disrepair department, bringing the idea to the partners before its implementation 3 years ago. The department is now thriving with a team of 20 members and a regular flow of incoming work.
Dale also manages the introducers for road traffic accidents, personal injury and clinical negligence.
And if that isn’t enough to keep him busy, he is also the key contact point for many of the firm’s suppliers, including surveyors, engineers and barristers.
Kieran Martin, Legal Executive
Kieran has been with True Solicitors for over 8 years, having worked at the firm since 2016.
He started out in the first response team and quickly progressed to the road traffic accident portal team as a claims assistant and shortly after was promoted to the role of a fee earner, responsible for a case load of road traffic accident claims. Following a successful year in the portal team, he transferred to the then Leeds office and RTA fast track team dealing with the more complex road traffic accident claims. It was here that Kieran had his first taste of higher value and more complex work. This set him on his journey to qualification and the next (and final) department transfer when he transitioned into the clinical negligence team, where he has been for almost 3 years.
Kieran settled into the new role quickly, establishing himself as an integral part of the team. He manages a varied case load including claims relating to delays in diagnosing cancer, stillbirths, gynaecology claims, orthopaedic claims and surgical negligence. He assists the team generally with technical issues and provides support to junior members in the early stages of claims. He has a real passion for ensuring his clients receive a satisfactory outcome and just compensation for their claim, which is reflected in regular excellent client feedback.
He recently completed his CILEX qualification studies and is now in the final stages of preparing to apply for admission as a Chartered Legal Executive lawyer.
Outside of work Kieran is an avid traveller, having travelled for extended periods both solo and with friends. Some of his favourite destinations include Thailand, where he taught English for a period, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Zanzibar.
Ben Adley, Trainee Solicitor
When he left school at 18, Ben knew it would be a dream to become a solicitor and study law. He says he always knew his passion was to assist those that needed it most and that is what he strives for day to day.
Moving from Leeds to Newcastle, it was daunting to start university in a new city where he knew nobody and then making the jump to move permanently for his first full time job and living in a new city. Ben recently graduated in 2023 from Northumbria University and True Solicitors was his first real taste of working in a solicitor’s firm. Joining the firm in August 2023, he started as a paralegal and became a fee earner within 6 months of being at the firm, with no prior knowledge of housing disrepair. He has since become a trainee solicitor and is actively working towards becoming a solicitor, making a dream come true.
Ben feels a great sense of achievement in his work and helping those that have been ignored, being able to give them a voice to their landlords. Working in housing disrepair opened his eyes to the conditions some individuals and families have been left to live in. Our aim is to make their home feel like a home again. This is why our work is so important to get our client out of the conditions they have been dealing with for far too long.
Ben Robinson, Paralegal
Ben joined True Solicitors almost 10 years ago, back in 2014. He started at the firm in the busy post room and worked his way up from there. He quickly found a real passion for helping clients and found an opportunity internally to do just this in the small claims team. He now works in the busy housing disrepair team, assisting clients with claims against their landlords, and he takes great pride in knowing he’s helped in some way improve their living conditions.
Outside of work, Ben has a daughter with another daughter on the way very soon. He loves anything to do with sport and fitness, and he recently cycled up Mount Ventoux, achieved a 16 minute 5km and carried the work football team to a 3rd place finish at a recent tournament.
