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  • ‘Maud Lepez is a clever and savvy operator. She is a delight to work with.’

    Legal 500 UK 2023

  • “Your dedication and work ethics has made this horrible experience bearable. I will be forever grateful for your help and professionalism that took this case from nothing to a great ending. Without you I would never have succeeded.”

    ER

  • “I would just like to thank Maud for all her help over the last few years. Her calm advice, knowledge and professionalism have made what was always going to be a difficult process, that much easier and gave me the confidence that we would eventually achieve an acceptable outcome. I always felt well-informed, updated on progress regularly and when decisions had to be made I did so feeling confident that I had all the necessary information and guidance to do so.”

    AR

  • ”I am very grateful that you brought this case to a successful conclusion after four years of « battle ». Thanks to the compensation award I will be able to treat myself and my daughter to a new trip to London, which we were not able to visit last time as a result of my accident; the remainder of the sum will be placed in my savings…”

    NJ

Multilingual French solicitor specialising in personal injury claims across Europe and UK

Expertise and experience

Maud is head of the department responsible for European personal injury claims.

She is a bilingual, dual-qualified lawyer with over 15 years of experience in personal injury cross-border litigation in England and France.
During her career, Maud has acted for claimants and defendants in personal injury litigation and this gives her a strategic mindset, anticipating what the other side will say. She currently focuses almost exclusively on claimant cases, although occasionally advises on defendant cases where her expertise is required.

Within the English jurisdiction, Maud has dealt with cases involving the laws of France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Poland, Andorra and Lithuania.

In her French practice, Maud also acts for clients based in other English-speaking countries, such as the US and Australia, who need an English-speaking French lawyer.

Her cases are varied in terms of severity and types of injuries, including:

  • orthopaedic;
  • psychiatric;
  • dental and maxillo-facial;
  • head and brain injuries;
  • multiple and catastrophic injuries; and
  • fatal cases.

Maud also acts for the French social security institutions and pursues claims against English defendants to recover their outlay, alongside the victim’s claims or independently.

Maud always has her clients’ interests at heart and is a good listener who understands clients’ needs and goals. She communicates complex issues of foreign law and procedure in an intelligible way and in the client’s own language and is pro-active in finding solutions within time and money constraints.

Public speaking

In 2017, Maud spoke at the Institute for European Traffic Law’s annual conference in Vienna and took part in a roundtable of comparative law and practice on expert evidence, presenting the English practice. She is engaged with the Paris Bar to provide CPD training to students and members of the Bar and she has delivered in October 2021 a webinar on practical handling of personal injury claims with an international component.

 

Specialisms

For individuals Services for European and UK lawyers For Insurers Significant Cases Accreditations (APIL):
  • Senior litigator (2017)
  • Accidents abroad specialist (2019)
Accolades
  • Ranked as ‘Up and coming’ in Chambers & Partners 2022: “A respected travel personal injury lawyer”, “very knowledgeable and pragmatic lawyer who gets good outcomes on her cases”, “she has a good understanding of French law and is very thorough and perceptive”.
  • Shortlisted for the Women in Law Awards 2020

Sample cases include

For claimants

  • Acted for a British holidaymaker who was run over by a car in France and suffered serious orthopaedic injuries. Maud brought the claim in the English High Court for the assessment of his damages under French law including a complex claim for loss of earnings requiring forensic accountancy evidence; claim settled for £330,000.
  • Successfully settled the claim of a French young man, who was a pedestrian hit by a car in England and suffered a brain injury which affected his career prospects. Liability was disputed throughout (under English law) and the claim settled three weeks before trial for the global sum of £600,000 net of a split of liability (confidential).
  • Currently pursuing in France the aggravation claim of a British lady who suffered serious dental injuries in a RTA in the 1990s.
  • Acted for a French woman who was injured in a skiing collision in Andorra caused by an English snowboarder and secured a £25,000 compensation for her shoulder injury.
  • Acted for three French Claimants who were victims of an accident in Scotland. Successfully opposed a challenge made by the defendant insurer to the jurisdiction of the English court (Le Guevel-Mouly v AIG Europe Limited).

For defendants

  • Acted for a French motor insurer in a claim pursued by a French motorcyclist who was seriously injured and suffered chronic pain making her unable to continue her job as a tattooist. Produced evidence in the English court for the assessment of her damages in French law and settled for £100,000.
  • Defended a French insurer against multiple claimants in a case involving three vehicles; settled all claims achieving a reduction of 70% on average from what was initially claimed.
  • Defended a French ski instructor and his insurer in a claim brought in the English court by a British sportsman who became paraplegic as a result of an avalanche during an off-piste skiing outing. This case involved a dispute on liability and on the quantum of damages, both subject to French law. Successfully achieved a reduction of liability by 30% and an assessment of damages in excess of £2m.

Outside the office

Maud is a busy mother of three boys and loves spending time with them, especially travelling and discovering new places and cultures.

She is involved in actions to fight climate change and protect the environment.

She also loves reading (mainly French and American literature), practicing yoga and cooking.

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