Members of NEMLS Council
PRESIDENT: John Corson, MD FRCS [2024 – 2026]
Consultant Colorectal Surgeon Sunderland Royal Hospital from 1998. Glasgow Graduate 1984, post-grad surgical training in Manchester where he obtained his MD in Sepsis Research. Recently retired Surgeon Commander Royal Naval Reserves having served in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
PRESIDENT ELECT: John Lowther, BA (Hons). [2024 – 2026]
John is Team Leader at Slater and Gordon Newcastle, a Senior Associate (solicitor) and Chair of Healthwatch South Tyneside. He is an APIL Senior Litigator and has worked in medico-legal litigation for 14 years.
PAST PRESIDENT: Angela Kirtley, BSc (Hons), LLB [2022 – 2024]
Partner in Weightmans Healthcare Team in Newcastle. Specialises in defendant clinical negligence work. Previously a partner with Ward Hadaway and Irwin Mitchell. Trained at Crutes Law firm.
MEDICAL SECRETARY: Timothy L Williams BMedSci MBBS PhD FRCP
Consultant Neurologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Clinical Neurology, Dept. of Neurology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne. Medical Director Newcastle MND Care Centre. Executive Member of Disability North.
LEGAL SECRETARY: Lisa Evans, LLB (Hons)
Partner and Head of the Health and Care Advisory Team at Ward Hadaway LLP, specialising in supporting and representing healthcare organisations and health professionals with legal advice and support, specialising in Court of Protection, inquests and clinical negligence matters. Lisa regularly provides training and lectures to healthcare professionals on a range of legal issues that impact on their practice.
TREASURER: Rev. Bryan Vernon
Bryan is a retired Senior Lecturer in Health Care Ethics at Newcastle Medical School and is Treasurer of the Institute of Medical Ethics.
SOCIAL SECRETARY: Elizabeth Hodgson, LLB (Hons).
A barrister at Parklane Plowden Chambers, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. She has practised almost exclusively in the field of injury-related litigation since pupillage at Ropewalk Chambers in Nottingham in 1993. She acts on behalf of both Claimants and Defendants in a wide range of personal injury, industrial disease and clinical negligence cases. She is instructed by many insurance companies, local authorities, the NHSLA, and the major trades unions. She has been recommended in the Legal 500 and in Chambers & Partners Guide to the Legal Profession regularly since 2007.
Council Members:
Robert Bullock [2022 – 2025]
Retired Consultant Anaesthetist at Newcastle General Hospital, then The Royal Victoria Infirmary, specialising in Trauma and Neuro-Intensive Care Medicine, and Long Term Assisted Ventilation in the community. As assistant Medical Director Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, had a major role in the reconfiguration of clinical services in Newcastle and the redevelopment of the RVI site.
Alex Littlefair, MA (Cantab), MPhil (Cantab), LLB (Hull) [2022 – 2025]
Alex is a barrister at Trinity Chambers, specialising in clinical negligence, personal injury and education law. He transferred to the bar in 2017 having previously been a solicitor.
Richard Milner, BSc, MD, LLM, DCH, FRCS, FRCS (Plast) [2022 – 2025]
Richard is a Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne. Originally from Newcastle, he qualified in Manchester and undertook plastic surgical training in the Welsh regional centre, Newcastle upon Tyne and Adelaide. He undertook an MD on experimental research into the effects of stretching on peripheral nerves. He is past President of BAPRAS, past President of the BSSH and a former examiner for the Inter-Collegiate Board of the Royal Colleges. He provides medical evidence in both personal injury and clinical negligence claims.
Helen Morland [2022 – 2025]
Helen is a partner at Hay & Kilner and has over 18 years’ experience acting for claimants in the clinical negligence field. She joined the team at Hay & Kilner upon qualification in 2006. She has a varied and complex caseload with significant expertise in cases involving cerebral palsy, brain & spinal injury, and cancer misdiagnosis. She has been noted in her field in The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners and described in its 2022 rankings as ‘a compassionate and highly competent claimant lawyer’. Helen also sits on the committee of the North East Women Lawyers Division and was a previous member of the NEMLS from 2012-2015. She is delighted to return to the council.
Professor Richard Brady FRCSEd MD [2023 – 2026]
Consultant Colorectal and Robotic Surgeon, Newcastle Hospitals
Visiting Professor of Surgery and Innovation, Ulster University
Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Newcastle University
Richard is the lead for IBD surgery and colorectal research at Newcastle Hospitals.
James Donnelly, LLB (Hons.) [2023 – 2026]
James is a solicitor working in Ward Hadaway LLP’s Health and Care Advisory Team. James represents health and care, blue light and emergency service organisations and NHS Trusts at Inquests in the Coroner’s Court. He also acts for NHS and healthcare clients in the Court of Protection, as well as cases involving deprivations of liberty.