The law firm founded by David Beckham's stepmother, which is known for securing settlements from the Ministry of Defence, is marking two decades in business this year.
Hilary Meredith Solicitors was founded in 2003 by its namesake, who went on to marry Ted Beckham in December 2021. Now Hilary Meredith-Beckham, the solicitor served as the Wilmslow firm's chief executive for 14 years until becoming its chair in 2017.
Hilary Meredith-Beckham started her legal career in 1982 and rose to become the youngest ever female managing partner of a 300-strong Manchester city centre law firm at the age of 29. But it was in 1987 that she took on a case that would change her life.
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She said: "One day a woman called into our office saying her husband who was in the Royal Artillery had died on manoeuvres in Canada. She was given no information regarding his death. She just wanted to be able to tell their children what happened when they were old enough."
She flew to Germany, interviewed the regiment and went on to win the case. It was the first claim brought against the MoD following the Repeal of S10 Crown Proceedings (Armed Forces) Act 1947 - and the start of a long line of cases representing military widows who had never been told how their loved-ones had died.
The lawyer launched Hilary Meredith Solicitors in 2003 and over the last 20 years, the firm has established a reputation for helping service personnel, veterans and their families. It was also the first law firm to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.
The firm has handled thousands of armed forces cases from Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the first Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq including incidents on manoeuvres and in training in countries from Belize to Hong Kong and Canada.
Looking back over the last 20 years, Mrs Meredith-Beckham said: "Everything we have achieved is down to our incredible team who work tirelessly to assist injured service personnel regain their quality-of-life post injury, providing them with a pathway back to civilian life".
As well as heading up her law firm, she is also visiting professor of law and veterans’ affairs at the University of Chester and chair of the Royal British Legion Solicitors Group, which she helped to establish in 1989.
In recent times, she has lobbied the government on behalf of the armed forces and provided evidence to the Select Defence Committee on the Iraq historic abuse cases, which ultimately contributed to the closure of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team.
She added: "Through my work with servicemen and women throughout the world, I’ve witnessed the sacrifices made by our forces and their families all too often.
"It is important that this sacrifice is acknowledged back on Civvy Street. We are all incredibly proud of our armed forces. The sacrifices they have made - and are continuing to make - will never be forgotten.
"My motivation, and those of the families I have helped, is to change the system so whatever happened doesn’t happen to anyone else. We’ve saved lives through our work and will continue to do so for many years to come."
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