By the way | Glowing with pride

Last month I mentioned I was involved in three trials. Since then, one '“ predictably '“ settled shortly before beginning, but the others went ahead and we won both. One is now subject to an appeal, but my case appears to have gone away. I genuinely believe that justice has been done, as nothing which our client had done or failed to do had caused the claimant's loss. There is always a risk, however, when dealing with litigants in person that they attract the court's sympathy to a much greater degree than the legally-represented insurance companies for whom I usually act.

Even sweeter was the email from a director of my insured client, a property management company, thanking me for my help and expressing delight at the result. She also said that she had been very impressed by our representation of them throughout. It gave me a 'Ready Brek glow' to spur me through the rest of the day - although I wished that she'd also sent it on to some people who matter, such as my boss or our insurer client.

So I did not expect to receive an email from the insurer just a few hours later, sent via my boss, reporting the positive feedback which had been sent to them by the same director, who had told of our 'professional and excellent service'. Priceless.

Before you groan at the shameless self-publicity, you should be aware that it's not the norm in my field of professional negligence to be showered with thank you gifts from clients. I used to be rather envious of an employment lawyer friend who received flowers and wine on a weekly basis. I received a case of champagne once, but it was a commercial litigation case on which I'd lent a hand, so not my usual area. Ironically, I was pregnant at the time, so had to wait several months to sample it.

The only other gift I can recall receiving was a box of limited edition Orange KitKats, which resulted from a passing comment I made during a very cerebral meeting with an expert engineer about the delicious biscuit which was served with coffee at his office.

So, champagne and chocolate are guaranteed to impress most ladies but positive feedback is at least equally appreciated. Particularly because it involves the person giving the feedback taking time to do so. I have been sure to spread the love, forwarding the client's comments on to all other people who have worked on the case. I have also thanked the client for making space in her schedule to put her comments in writing.

Olympics fever

As also reported last month, I have a pile of dates floating around in my diary for 'without prejudice' meetings, mediations and conferences with counsel. Everyone seems to be working towards an unofficial 27 July deadline as much of my work is London-centric due to the insurance element, and it seems as though the capital is going to be a commercial ghost town for most of the Olympics and Paralympics, with everyone to whom I've spoken planning to work from home. Some more intrepid members of the opposition have even suggested that they venture north to attend mediations at our office, which is virtually unheard of.

On top of that I will be buzzing around the country to Cambridge and Coventry for meetings which will write off entire days, while slotting in adequate preparation time and tending to my other cases. It unfortunately coincides with the first week of the school summer holidays, which sees my daughters' calendars match mine for complexity and has necessitated one friend producing an excel spreadsheet to facilitate some focused planning.

Away from my caseload, 'tis the season of appraisals meaning that I have a new batch of forms to get my head around as this will be my first at my new firm. Terrifyingly, there is a 360 degree feedback system here for the appraisal of colleagues at all levels. Comments are not expected to be lengthy, but they appear on the final report with your exact wording so could be attributed to you even if you didn't intend that. I don't believe I have ever thought so long and hard about so few sentences.

I have been trying to avoid the miserable topic of the weather but I'm struggling to continue to do that. The firm's Olympic torch bike ride between the UK offices is about to begin and will see 65 riders travelling 700 miles with the goal of raising £10,000 for the firm's charity WarChild. My colleagues in Manchester are leaving in a couple of days and I've heard a few grumblings of late about the gradients which came up on some internet relief map of their planned route (to Sheffield, so no flat alternative) and the need to invest in some lightweight waterproof clothes which will protect them from the elements without hindering their speed.

I wish all athletes at Kennedys, Team GB and elsewhere a great sporting summer. Let's dare to hope for some sunshine at some point too.

Copyright & permissions