Sector Focus Teams

Background

Several years ago, FOIL undertook a radical overhaul of its special interest groups to strengthen its areas of sector focus and engage more effectively with the whole of its membership.

A series of new member-led sector focus teams was set up to be more closely aligned to the operational structure of the insurance industry, making these teams immediately more relevant to the interests of FOIL members and their client base.

Each team has a similar structure limited to 5-6 lawyers from different member firms in England and Wales plus a member from London FOIL, Scotland and one from Northern Ireland in most cases. In addition, there are 6 Scotland specific SFTs, 2 Northern Ireland specific SFTs and 3 London FOIL SFTs. Members join for no longer than 3 years and the annual time commitment is approximately 3 days, although this can vary depending on external developments in any given sector.

The teams currently set up, focus on the areas listed below, and FOIL will use the same template and structure to focus on new areas of insurance law as markets develop and reforms evolve.

The Sector Focus Teams

• Abuse Claims Practice Procedure

  Who’s in this team

  • Alastair Gillespie (Forbes)

  • Graeme Watson  (Clyde & Co)

  • Ian Carroll (Keoghs)

  • Joe Napier (Napier & Sons)

  • Kella Bowers (Forbes Solicitors)

  • Lucy Harris (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Paul Donnelly (DWF)

  • Paula Jefferson (Clyde & Co)

  • Rebecca Maby (Kennedys)

  • Sarah Erwin-Jones (Browne Jacobson)

  Meeting Minutes

• ADR

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Early Neutral Evaluation in light of Lomax v Lomax and the CJC report on ADR
  • Arbitration in personal injury claims
  • On-line Dispute Resolution. Watching brief

  Who’s in this team

  • Andrew Constable (Clyde & Co)

  • Ben Appleton (Kennedy's Law)

  • Jake Parr (Horwich Farrelly)

  • James Arrowsmith (Browne Jacobson)

  • John Owen (Bernicia Marine)

  • Mark Johnston (DWF)

  • Paul Hughes (Weightmans)

  • Peter Allchorne (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Tim Wallis (Trust Mediation Ltd)

  Meeting Minutes

• Catastrophic Claims

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Cost of care (and related care claim issues)
  • Discount rate
  • Interface between this group and the Rehabilitation SFT

  Who’s in this team

  • Adrian Cottam (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Alex Penberthy (Birketts)

  • Andrew Hibbert (Clyde & Co)

  • Catherine Currie (BTO Solicitors)

  • Joe McManus (Kennedy's Law)

  • Leanne Conisbee (HCR Law)

  • Rohana Abeywardana (Hill Dickinson)

  • Sarah Smith (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Simon Curtis (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Steven King (DWF)

  • Tony Cawley (Clyde & Co)

  • Victoria Coleman (Keoghs)

  • Will Quinn (Weightmans)

  Meeting Minutes

• Clinical Negligence

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Fixed Recoverable Costs
  • Artificial Intelligence (healthcare focus)
  • Discount Rate Review

  Who’s in this team

  • Amanda Wylie (Kennedys)

  • Chris Dexter (Weightmans)

  • Graeme Watson  (Clyde & Co)

  • Howard Dean (Keoghs)

  • Ian Long (Browne Jacobson)

  • Joanne Hughes (Hill Dickinson)

  • Majid Hassan (Capsticks)

  • Robert Tobin (Kennedys)

  • Sheryl Gearing (Clyde & Co)

  • Vicki Swanton (DWF)

  Meeting Minutes

• Construction

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Monitoring the impact of the Building Safety Act on the claims landscape
  • Increased materials cost and labour costs – claims inflation
  • Environmental liability – future proofing buildings with global warming in mind

  Who’s in this team

  • Ian Masser (Beale & Co)

  • Manus Quigg (Brodies)

  • Paul Lowe (Kennedys)

  • Shaun Lawler (Clyde & Co LLP)

  • Tara Cosgrove (Beale & Co)

  Meeting Minutes

• Costs

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • The continued bedding down of the costs budgeting regime and the anticipated introduction of the new Bill of Costs on a mandatory basis.
  • Fixed costs: following the publication of Lord Justice Jacksons report, full participation in the development and implementation of a wider fixed costs regime, to address both the extension of fixed costs & the adverse consequences arising from case-law
  • The issue of costs payable after late acceptance of a Part 36 offer in cases subject to a fixed costs regime.

  Who’s in this team

  • Chris White (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Howard  Dean (Keoghs)

  • Lewis Thompson (Kennedys)

  • Matthew Hoe (Taylor Rose)

  • Nicola Critchley (DWF)

  • Paul McCarthy (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Paul Wainwright (Clyde & Co)

  • Phil Bailey (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Rebecca Barton (Forbes)

  • Rebecca Heyes (DWF)

  • Rizvan Rasul (Hill Dickinson)

  • Steve Dawson (Keoghs)

  Meeting Minutes

• CPR & Protocols

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Developments in the FRC and Pre-action Protocols
  • The rules interface between the offline and online civil claims systems
  • The dissemination and hosting of transitional procedural rules
  • The Green Book in Northern Ireland

  Who’s in this team

  • Abbygail Cooper (Clyde & Co)

  • Howard  Dean (Keoghs)

  • Liam Bedford (Kennedys)

  • Michelle McCullough (Clyde & Co)

  • Nicola Critchley (DWF)

  • Paul Brandish (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Rob Gray (Keoghs)

  • Steven Smart (Horwich Farrelly)

  Meeting Minutes

• Credit Hire

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Working with the MOJ to achieve reform of the credit hire market
  • The assessment of Basic Rate
  • The potential for the Civil Liability Bill issues to encourage fraudsters to migrate to other areas - fraud in high value credit hire claims.
  • The relationship between insurers and CHOs plus focusing at the moment on the rate review

  Who’s in this team

  • Barry Finnegan (Murphy O’Rawe)

  • Gary Herring (Keoghs)

  • Gavin Perry (DWF)

  • Helen Mason (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Max Withington (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Melanie Mooney (Clyde & Co)

  • Rachael Czaja (Kennedys)

  • Sarah Cartlidge (Weightmans)

  • Val Pitt (Horwich Farrelly)

  Meeting Minutes

• Cross Border

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • UK's accession to the Lugano Convention
  • Other international treaties that facilitate the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

  Who’s in this team

  • Craig Evans (Clyde & Co)

  • Greg MacDougall (Clyde & Co)

  • Kate Marrey (DWF)

  • Kelvin Farmaner (Trethowans)

  • Kieran Mitchell (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Nick Richards (Weightmans)

  • Sara-Jane Eaton (DWF)

  • Simon Ball (Weightmans)

  Meeting Minutes

• D&O

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • How Directors and Officers manage their business during and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 disruption.
  • Wrongful Trading liability - increasingly an area of focus by insolvency practitioners and others against D&O's in recent years but also now with a likely increased frequency of consideration given economic conditions.
  • Directors’ liability for climate change policy and impact - the need to assess and manage.

  Who’s in this team

  • Amy Nesbitt (Weightmans)

  • Danielle Best (Weightmans)

  • Graham Briggs (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Hannah Williams (Kennedys)

  • Kieran Walshe (DWF)

  • Marlene Henderson (Browne Jacobson)

  • Nathan Penny-Larter (Beale & Co)

  • Tim Edward (BTO)

  Meeting Minutes

• Disease

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Handling mesothelioma claims following the failure of the MoJ consultation
  • Dealing with the continuing influx of deafness claims
  • Costs issues post Jackson

  Who’s in this team

  • Alison Beesley (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Cameron Clark (Kennedys)

  • Chris Fletcher (Clyde & Co)

  • David Pugh (Keoghs)

  • Graham Dean (Weightmans)

  • Pamela Stevenson (Weightmans)

  • Sarah Handley (DWF)

  • Sean McGahan (DAC Beachcroft (Northern Ireland))

  • William Potts (DAC Beachcroft)

  Meeting Minutes

• Employers' Liability

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Policy reform on employment rights and worker status
  • The elasticity of vicarious liability
  • Track allocation and complexity banding

  Who’s in this team

  • Alistair Graham (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Cas Mitchell (DAC Beachcroft)

  • David Mayor (Forbes)

  • Gail Mooney (Tughans)

  • Jane Price (Weightmans)

  • Jonathan Head (DWF)

  • Kate Donachie (Brodies)

  • Sean Riley (Kennedys)

  • Stephen Sumner (Clyde & Co)

  • Tom Lomas (Hill Dickinson)

  Meeting Minutes

• Environmental Insurance

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Is the insurance industry ready for climate change?
  • Green energy investment options
  • In conjunction with the FOIL Marine SFT, raising awareness of the increasing numbers of marine vessels that are decommissioned and recycled in ways contrary to international law and the damage this causes to the environment

  Who’s in this team

  • Angus Crawford (BTO)

  • Carole Vernon (Kennedys)

  • Chris Green (Keoghs)

  • Gareth Liddy (Johnsons)

  • Iain Butterworth (Shearwater Law)

  • Niall McLean (Brodies)

  Meeting Minutes

• Fraud

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Aiming to issue 1-2 papers a year to members on key court decisions
  • Fundamental dishonesty – approaches and strategies
  • The Courts

  Who’s in this team

  • Alex Wilkinson (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Ben Leech (Keoghs)

  • Dan Thomas (Clyde & Co)

  • George Strahan (Johnsons Law)

  • Ian Gardiner (Hill Dickinson)

  • Jill Sinclair (DWF)

  • Miles Hepworth (DWF)

  • Paul Wainwright (Browne Jacobson)

  • Ruth Day (Capsticks)

  • Sarah Bryant (Capsticks)

  • Steven Keenan (DAC Beachcroft)

  Meeting Minutes

• London FOIL Energy

  Who’s in this team

  • Angela Flaherty (Clyde & Co LLP)

  • Anthony Menzies (DAC Beachcroft)

  • James Nicholls (DWF)

  • Mark Fitzgerald (Weightmans LLP)

  • Russell Wright (Kennedy's Law)

  Meeting Minutes

• London FOIL Marine

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Liability for mis-declared cargo
  • The increasing size of cargo ships
  • Liability for breaches of the Emissions Regulations 2020
  • In conjunction with the FOIL SFT on environmental issues, raising awareness of the increasing numbers of marine vessels that are decommissioned and recycled in ways contrary to international law and the damage this causes to the environment

  Who’s in this team

  • Andrew Bicknell (Clyde & Co)

  • Charles Patterson (Shearwater Law)

  • Daniel Crockford (Birketts)

  • John Owen (Bernicia Marine)

  • Jonathan Moss (DWF)

  • Shaan Burton (Kennedy's Law)

  • Stefanie Johnston (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Toby Vallance (DAC Beachcroft)

  Meeting Minutes

• London FOIL Reinsurance

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • The continued growth of ILS funds as alternative capital
  • The hours clause

  Who’s in this team

  • Andrew Schutte (Keoghs)

  • David Abbott (DWF)

  • Gavin Coull (Birketts)

  • Ian Plumley (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Laura Madders (Kennedys)

  • Ling Ong (Weightmans)

  • Nigel Brook (Clyde & Co)

  Meeting Minutes

• Motor

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Independent medical panels and MedCo.
  • Costs - the practice of listing a 10 minute hearing that is the final stage.
  • Technological advances in the motor industry- including telematics and driverless cars. Motor Fraud

  Who’s in this team

  • Emma Fuller (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Glyn Thompson (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Karen Fyffe (DWF)

  • Sally Richmond (Keoghs)

  • Sarah Cartlidge (Weightmans)

  • Shaun Moore (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Vicky Garner (Kennedys)

  • Vikki Melville (Clyde & Co)

  • William Balfry (DWF)

  Meeting Minutes

• Northern Ireland Access To Justice

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • The reforms following on from the Access to Justice Civil Reforms Report
  • New commercial fast tract system to be introduced in early 2019

  Who’s in this team

  • Alison Cassidy (Clyde & Co)

  • Amanda Wylie (Kennedy's Law)

  • Catriona McCorry (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Laura McKee (Tughans)

  • Matthew Fitzpatrick (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Scott McCarroll (DWF)

  Meeting Minutes

• Northern Ireland Costs

  Who’s in this team

  • Amanda Wylie (Kennedy's Law)

  • Enya McKenna (Carson McDowell)

  • Karen Fyffe (DWF)

  • Matthew Fitzpatrick (Horwich Farrelly)

  Meeting Minutes

• Northern Ireland Disease

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Inconsistencies in the application of the Industrial Disease Claims Working Party guidelines in Northern Ireland
  • The change in the frequency of the different types of disease claims in Northern Ireland
  • The general issue of Pre-Action conduct in disease claims

  Who’s in this team

  • Claire Wylie (DWF Law LLP)

  • George Strahan (Johnsons Solicitors)

  • Pauric McGonagle (Carson McDowell)

  • Rebecca Woods (Clyde & Co)

  • Sean McGahan (DAC Beachcroft (Northern Ireland))

  • Sinead Keeley (Murphy O'Rawe)

  • Will Gibson (Keoghs)

  Meeting Minutes

• Northern Ireland Motor Credit Hire

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Strategies re the PAP and matters of illegality
  • Approaches to new heads of loss
  • Choice/selection of engineers
  • Expert appraisal, access and storage of vehicles

  Who’s in this team

  • Aoife Quinn (Tughans)

  • Barry Finnegan (Murphy O’Rawe)

  • Ciara Liddy (DWF)

  • Gareth Liddy (Johnsons Solicitors)

  • Ian Martindale (Kennedys)

  • James Kelly (Clyde & Co)

  • Judith Rountree (Carson McDowell)

  • Michael McLarnon (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Ruth Megaw (Keoghs)

  Meeting Minutes

• Product Liability

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
  • The Evolving Nature of Product Risks and Policy Wording
  • Legislative and Regulatory Change

  Who’s in this team

  • Barnaby Winckler (Kennedys)

  • Daniel West (Weightmans)

  • Mark McCluskie (Keoghs)

  • Michael Samaan (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Olya Melnitchouk (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Sheryl Bignell (DWF)

  • Victoria Curran (Browne Jacobson)

  Meeting Minutes

• Professional Indemnity

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Generative AI - risks and insurance coverage
  • Alternative dispute resolution in professional negligence claims
  • ESG-related issues, risks and claims

  Who’s in this team

  • Alisdair Matheson (Brodies)

  • Camelia Nesari (Weightmans)

  • Catriona McCorry (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Jeremy Riley (Kennedys)

  • Lucy Tolond (DWF)

  • Ross Baker (Beale Law)

  • Sarah Naylor (Keoghs)

  • Tara Cosgrove (Beale & Co)

  Meeting Minutes

• Property

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Denial of access claims arising from terrorism

  Who’s in this team

  • Caroline Hedley (Clyde & Co)

  • Emma Falloon (Kennedys)

  • Jonathan Bingham (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Lindsay Abley (DWF)

  • Mark Morton (BTO Solicitors)

  • Mark Wing (Clyde & Co)

  • Victoria Jordan (Horwich Farrelly)

  Meeting Minutes

• Public Sector and Blue Light

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Police/Blue-light claims
  • Housing - led by Carol Dalton
  • Local Authority - led by Andrew Ellis
  • Healthcare - led by Lesley Allan and Louise Butler
  • Education

  Who’s in this team

  • Andrew Ellis (Forbes)

  • Andrew Steel (Weightmans)

  • Chris Webb-Jenkins (Weightmans)

  • Joanne Pruden (Browne Jacobson)

  • Karen Locke (Alarm)

  • Katrina Boyd (DWF)

  • Lesley Allan (Kennedys)

  • Louise Butler (DAC Beachcroft (Northern Ireland))

  • Sarah Swan (Keoghs)

  Meeting Minutes

• Regulatory Law

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Raising awareness of the Maughan decision and its impact on the standard of proof in unlawful killing cases.
  • Highlighting the progress of the draft Building Safety Bill.
  • Monitoring changes of rules and procedures for businesses post-Brexit.

  Who’s in this team

  • Andrew Jacobs (DWF)

  • Chris Newton (Keoghs)

  • Jonathan Edwards (HCR Law)

  • Kathryn Lumby (Kennedys)

  • Kevin O’Hagan (DAC Beachcroft)

  Meeting Minutes

• Rehab

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • How is "success" defined in rehab?
  • Goal setting in rehab - an unrealistic goal?
  • Rehab in chronic pain cases - is there a better way?

  Who’s in this team

  • Chris Eccles (Clyde & Co)

  • Claire Wylie (DWF)

  • David Johnson (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Emma Cahill (Kennedys)

  • Garry Ferguson (BTO)

  • Matthew Ruck (Keoghs)

  • Raheema Mohammed (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Shaun Lavery (Weightmans)

  • Stephen Foster (Kennedys)

  Meeting Minutes

• Retail

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Data Loss
  • Retail Fraud
  • Franchising Risks

  Who’s in this team

  • Heidi Swales (Kennedys)

  • Jonathan Mitchell (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Kari Hansen (Keoghs)

  • Peter Forshaw (Weightmans)

  • Sean McGahan (DAC Beachcroft (Northern Ireland))

  Meeting Minutes

• Scotland Abuse

  Who’s in this team

  • Caroline Coyle (DWF)

  • Claire White (BTO)

  • Frank Hughes (Clyde & Co)

  • Graeme Watson (Clyde & Co)

  • Jennifer Thomson (Morton Fraser)

  • Kate Donachie (Brodies)

  • Louise Gallagher (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Pamela Stevenson (Weightmans)

  • Val Pitt (Horwich Farrelly)

  Meeting Minutes

• Scotland Costs

  Who’s in this team

  • Caroline Coyle (DWF)

  • David McLeod (Keoghs)

  • Karina Manson (BTO)

  • Kate Donachie (Brodies)

  • Marian Tytler (Clyde & Co)

  • Seonaid Busby (Weightmans)

  • Tim Lennox (Kennedys)

  • Val Pitt (Horwich Farrelly)

  Meeting Minutes

• Scotland Disease

  Who’s in this team

  • Andrew Forsyth (Burness Paull)

  • Andrew Gilmour (Clyde & Co)

  • Daniela Fusi (Kennedys)

  • David Magee (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Ellen Andrew (Brodies)

  • Jennifer Stewart (BTO)

  • Jenny Dickson (Morton Fraser)

  • Kay Darling (Clyde & Co)

  • Lauren Fettes (DWF)

  • Pamela Stevenson (Weightmans)

  • Zoe Strong (Keoghs)

  Meeting Minutes

• Scotland Fraud

  Who’s in this team

  • Angus Gillies (BTO)

  • Emily Jeffrey (Keoghs)

  • Jenna Campbell (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Jill Sinclair (DWF)

  • Kirsty Yuill (Clyde & Co)

  • Louise Houliston (Kennedys)

  • Lynn Livesey (Brodies)

  • Seonaid Busby (Weightmans)

  • Steven Smart (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Vikki Melville (Clyde & Co)

  Meeting Minutes

• Scotland Large Loss

  Who’s in this team

  • Andrew Lothian (DWF)

  • Doug Kier (Weightmans)

  • Garry Ferguson (BTO)

  • Laura McMillan (Brodies)

  • Rachel Henry (Clyde & Co)

  • Steven Smart (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Tanya Gordon (Clyde & Co)

  Meeting Minutes

• Scotland Professional Negligence

  Who’s in this team

  • Alisdair Matheson (Brodies)

  • Andrew McConnell (DWF)

  • Ashley Jones (Burness Paull)

  • Chris Mackay (Burness Paull)

  • Colette Finnieston (Clyde & Co)

  • David Nelson (Kennedys)

  • James Jerman (Brodies)

  • Lindsay Ogunyemi (DWF)

  • Pamela Stevenson (Weightmans)

  • Shannan Wilkie (Burness Paull)

  Meeting Minutes

• Scotland Rules

  Who’s in this team

  • Clare Crawford (Kennedys)

  • Debbie Connor (DWF)

  • Douglas McGregor (Brodies)

  • Jennifer Neill (Burness Paull)

  • Karina Manson (BTO)

  • Kelly Sutherland (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Lyndsey McLean (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Natalie Gibb (Clyde & Co)

  • Ross McIntyre (Weightmans)

  • Steph Seidel (DWF)

  • Tim Webster (BTO)

  • Val Pitt (Horwich Farrelly)

  Meeting Minutes

• Space

  Who’s in this team

  • Alexandra Rodina (Kennedys)

  • Lorraine Wilson (DAC Beachcroft)

  Meeting Minutes

• Sports

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Insurability issues
  • Safeguarding and child protection
  • Concussion and head injuries
  • Issues arising from transgender participants in sport

  Who’s in this team

  • Bruce Ralston (Weightmans)

  • Claire White (BTO)

  • David Mayor (Forbes)

  • David Spencer (Clyde & Co)

  • Imogen Webb (Horwich Farrelly)

  • Jason Howarth (Keoghs)

  • Majid Hassan (Capsticks)

  • Narrinder Taggar (DWF)

  • Richard Rowe (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Tatiana Dall (Kennedys)

  Meeting Minutes

• Technology and Cyber Liabilities

  Please feel free to contact any one of the team with your views on these or any other topics.

  • Wearable technologies
  • The Supply chain
  • Insurance for technologies such as drone, sensors, robotics, and software
  • In conjunction with the Motor SFT, working on potential cyber liabilities arising from connected electric vehicles and micro mobility

  Who’s in this team

  • Amy Nesbitt (Weightmans)

  • Dan Hyde (HCR Law)

  • David Williams (DAC Beachcroft)

  • Edward Lewis (Weightmans)

  • Helen Bourne (Clyde & Co LLP)

  • Lauren McFarlane (BTO)

  • Simon Murray (DWF LLP)

  • Tom Pelham (Kennedy's Law)

  Meeting Minutes

Sector Focus Teams have 5 key roles

1. To help develop policy for FOIL so that when issues arise the organisation a position to take
2. To facilitate training or seminars, for members, and non-members on topical or important issues arising in their sector
3. To act as spearheads for particular campaigns or projects in their sector e.g. consultation or administrative reform processes
4. To engage in thought-leadership with insurers and other focus groups on behalf of FOIL
5. To demonstrate to non-members and potential clients the extent of expertise within the FOIL membership

Team Roles

• 

  Role of Head

  • Lead the SFT and act as the key contact point for the FOIL National Committee via the National Steering Committee, and for insurers / self-insurers.
  • Set the long term agenda and strategy for the SFT so it can act as a spearhead for particular campaigns or projects in the sector e.g. consultation or administrative reform processes.
  • Identify other key issues affecting the sector and devise the most appropriate response.
  • Propose FOIL position / policy on issues affecting the sector
  • Scan the horizon for new consultations, key cases, and market activity relevant to the sector and report these back to the SFT and the NSC.
  • Set the meeting agendas for the quarterly meetings
  • Identify and implement consistent policy and succession plans
• 

  Role of Deputy

  • Deputise for the SFT Head
  • Support the work of the SFT and the other officers
  • Help to set the long term agenda and strategy for the sft
  • Help to identify the key issues affecting the sector
• 

  Role of Liaison Officer

  • Ensure that NSC is aware of all SFT activity
  • Ensure that the other members of the SFT are kept informed of all SFT activity
  • Liaise with other FOIL members interested in the Sector to get feedback and activity suggestions
  • Identify training areas from within the Sector
  • Prepare CBA / proposal for central funding of training sessions
• 

  Role of Communications Officer

  • Prepare formal communication on activity and policy around the key Sector issues for review by the National Steering Committee
  • Prepare and distribute minutes of each quarterly meeting
  • Promote SFT training sessions / seminars
• 

  Role of Scotland and Northern Ireland reps

  • To liaise between the SFT and the regional members to make sure both are aware of the key issues in the sector
  • To raise issues of interest in the region to the rest of the SFT
  • To promote the work of the team to other FOIL member in the region

Typical Activities of a SFT

• Respond to press enquiries
• Produce opinion pieces
• Host roundtable events
• Inform FOIL consultation responses

Overall the time commitment for participation in the teams is typically 2-3 days per person per annum in total spread out throughout the year. Individual lawyers should serve no more than three years on a team.

Laurence Besemer (CEO)