In our latest “Meet the Expert” feature, Forensic Supervisor Adam Wilson tells us about his broad experience, having worked in a number of departments at Milsted Langdon, and how more recently he has supported those affected by the Post Office scandal and built a team of people based across the world.

Tell us about your experience

I joined the firm in 2009 where my role was in Financial Services supporting the large team of financial advisers.

I then transferred to the General Practice department in 2013 and after getting to know the Forensic team better in what they do, I thought it could be a good transition for me, so joined the team in 2018 and started getting to grips with the forensic cases, since then having worked in a number of very interesting matters including the Post Office scandal, valuation of claim for unfair prejudice and the Azerbaijani Laundromat investigation.

The beauty of working in a firm with plenty of practice areas is that I have had the opportunity to learn what different teams focus on (albeit I have no plans on moving to another department anytime soon!)

How did the Post Office project start?

We were first instructed by a firm of solicitors to assist with the loss of earnings claims for Claimants who are part of the Overturned Historical Conviction Scheme (“OHC”). After dealing with the first few instructions, we found ourselves with approximately 70 cases.

We were then instructed by a second firm of solicitors to assist with the Ex-Gratia Group Litigation Order Scheme (“GLO”), with a further 260 Claims. Alongside this we have also been assisting a large number of Claimants within the Historical Shortfall Scheme (“HSS”), including those made bankrupt by the Post Office.

The project team started with Forensic Partner Roger Isaacs and I, with Supervisor Wendy Li joining very shortly after, and we now have over 20 people involved in the project.

The challenges of dealing with such an emotional and sensitive subject matter

It has been heartbreaking listening to how much the Claimants’ lives and their families’ lives have been ruined as a result of the Horizon scandal.

When we meet with the Claimants, it has been so important to allow them space to communicate their thoughts and help them know they are being listened to throughout the process and also making sure they understand what it is that we are doing and how we can help.

We are building financial claims which span across 25 years and building a full assessment of what has been lost financially is complex (and it needs to be done quickly), so we want to make sure the Claimant and legal team receive the support they need from us.

Tell us about the challenges of building a team, which is now approaching 20-25 people, in the UK and India that is dealing with around 500 clients.

I think the biggest challenge is onboarding a team of that size in a very short timeframe and making sure they have what they need to complete projects.

What has made the process slightly easier after being involved in the “schemes” for some time, is that we have been able to pass that key project specific knowledge on to the team, allowing them to hit the ground running.

The key to of all the above has been clear and concise communication.