Sharon Allison is a Partner at Ashtons Legal and chair of the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers.
In May 2023, Sharon Allison was named the new chair of the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL), the first woman to hold the position. Previously holding the vice chair position, Sharon is also a CILEX member and a partner at multi-practice firm Ashtons Legal.
Like many CILEX practitioners, Sharon did not have any legal qualifications prior to starting her career. She undertook her qualifications with us from 2000 to 2004, before we had been granted the Royal Charter (when we were known as ILEX), and began to specialise in personal injury.
What made you choose the CILEX route?
No-one in my family had been to university before and financially, it simply was not an option for me so the CILEX route was the only way that I had the opportunity to work full time, study and learn on the job. I would not have been able to qualify any other way.
How did you find the experience of studying around your work life?
In a lot of respects, studying and working in the job complimented each other but in other respects, it was really tough. When I started ILEX, I knew nothing at all about the law and was starting from the most stark of canvasses. I felt that I needed to go to night school to get me through my Part 1 and therefore I travelled from work after a full day, about 30 miles in the other direction from home to go to college for a two hour night school, two nights a week. For me, it was helpful to sit in a classroom and listen whereas nowadays with webinars etc, it is so much more accessible without the travelling and long days. Managing to run a home, a family, a job and study is a juggle but it is a skill that you carry through your whole career. What working parent doesn’t?
What were the major milestones that you achieved along your journey in between qualifying with CILEX and becoming chair of SCIL?
I started the course immediately after I started with my firm in 2000 and I finished all exams in 2004. I then did my qualifying employment and then became a Fellow in 2006. I have really spent my career trying to learn best practice from the wealth of experienced CN lawyers around me and trying hard to ‘craft my art’. My firm always had a very unique approach to progression in the firm which was based on contribution rather than origin of qualification. This allowed me to focus on the most important aspect of the job which is to put the client at the centre of everything that we do. In knowing anything was possible in terms of progression, I could focus on doing a good job and learning as much as I could along the way. My proudest moment was in 2016 when I became a Partner at the firm that gave me the opportunity to realise my potential and supported me every step of the way and I am still there now. 23 years ago, I walked in the door with no legal qualifications but was keen to learn. They helped guide me on to the ILEX course, gave me amazing training principles who helped me every step of the way, gave me study leave for my exams and encouraged me all the way along that anything was possible. I now stand proud 23 years later as Head of Medical Injury at Ashtons Legal working with the most awesome team of talented and inspirational lawyers and now, the great honour of being Chair of SCIL, which is my biggest challenge to date and a huge honour.
How do you feel that opportunities for women in the legal sector have changed since you began your journey in law?
A lot has changed in my legal lifetime. Attitudes have changed a lot but it hasn’t happened overnight. I only took 6 weeks off work when I had my daughter. Partly the reasons for that were financial but also my own internal narrative that women who take career breaks do not progress well within their firms. That was horrendous with a child who didn’t sleep more than 4 hours a night for the first two years. I think that was an unspoken narrative early on in my career but by the time I had my daughter in 2009, the narrative was changing. Belief in that narrative has taken time but certainly in my legal world, I don’t see women being held back now from opportunities. In fact, quite the contrary.
What advice would you give to students undertaking the CILEX route today, particularly in the personal injury field?
I would say that go for it. The work is challenging, emotional but wholesome and rewarding. There are not many careers that you have the immense privilege of helping someone often in their darkest hour to achieve answers, justice and closure. CILEX gives you the opportunity to soak up that wealth of experience around you that will pay dividends in your future career. Grab it with both hands.
What’s next for you?
For me, Chairing SCIL will present a significant challenge over the next couple of years but I am genuinely excited to be working with industry specialists who are at the top of their game in experience and expertise. Working outside of my daily bubble is exciting and I am looking forward to all of the potential opportunities that arise through my tenure. Alongside that, I remain equally devoted to my fantastic team and clients. Client work is my first love and is why I can speak with passion and depth about Access to Justice for injured patients because it is at the core of how I got here in the first place.