Exeter lawyer dedicates regional legal award to 'inspirational' parents
Exeter lawyer Nicola Rawlinson-Weller has won a prestigious award for her role in helping bereaved parents inspire health service improvements following the tragic loss of their babies.
Nicola, who is part of the South West-headquartered Enable Law team, dedicated her success to her clients after being named Solicitor of the Year in the Devon and Somerset Law Society Legal Awards.
The accolade recognises Nicola’s support for grieving parents and families affected by medical negligence during pregnancy who are determined to turn personal tragedy into positive change.
Nicola, who is based at Enable Law's Exeter office which is located at Senate Court, Southernhay Gardens, won the award after judges learned of her efforts to hold NHS leaders to account to seek answers, secure appropriate levels of compensation and ultimately help clients through the healing process.
An independent panel of eight judges sang Nicola’s praises as they commended the work of the managing associate at Enable Law’s Exeter Clinical Negligence Team.
“Nicola demonstrates a rare ability to combine technical mastery with compassionate advocacy and innovation,” the judges stated. “She also demonstrates legal expertise, emotional intelligence, client-first thinking and community leadership.”
The award follows Nicola’s work with parents to obtain apologies from NHS Trust chiefs, amend local guidelines and pave the way for mums and dads to deliver training to frontline doctors and nurses to improve bereavement care.
The judges noted that this work has benefitted the wider community as families who experience baby loss are better supported and ensure their babies leave a lasting legacy.
Following the awards ceremony, which took place at the University of Exeter's Great Hall, Nicola said: “I am hugely honoured to have won such a prestigious award, and it is very humbling to have my work around baby loss recognised by my legal peers.
“But the real heroes are the people I count myself fortunate to represent. Those mums and dads who put their trust in me are truly inspirational in the way that, in heartbreaking circumstances, they not only seek justice for their babies but also aim to put right wrongs.
“I feel really passionate about the work we do at Enable Law to support people through their darkest days, seek accountability, get answers, move forward and aim to change things for the better so other parents are less likely to experience the trauma of baby loss.”
Away from work, Nicola leads an active personal life that includes volunteering with baby loss charities Aching Arms and Towards Tomorrow Together and has helped the Maypole Project create training resources for bereavement counsellors.
Head of Enable Law Rob Antrobus added: “We are all really proud that Nicola’s sterling work for her clients has earned recognition from her fellow legal professionals.
“Nicola has a gentle and kind nature that lends itself to being perfectly placed to help parents navigate a way through emotionally taxing, frequently challenging and very complicated cases.
“The huge amount of positive feedback we get from the mums and dads that Nicola represents says it all about what a great lawyer and how tenacious Nicola is. She never leaves a stone unturned for clients and epitomises everything that is good about Enable Law.”
