Personal injury (PI) law deals with compensation for accidents and diseases. This area of law is flourishing in light of the recognition of new types of physical and mental illness. The subject matter varies considerably and can range from controversial, high-profile disaster cases through road traffic accidents to health and safety cases involving what one lawyer describes as "trippers, slippers and whiplash". A related, specialised practice area of PI law is clinical negligence, which involves injuries suffered during medical procedures.

Lisa Davies, a solicitor at Browne Jacobson's Nottingham office, always knew that law was her bag and certainly left no stone unturned in exploring the different options available to her. She explains: "I did A-level law and really enjoyed it, and also did lots of work experience, including mini-pupillages and vacation placements. However, even when I'd finished university, I still wasn't sure which route into the profession to take, so I applied both for training contracts and for a Lincoln's Inn scholarship. I was extremely fortunate to gain the scholarship and a number of training contracts. After discussions with Browne Jacobson, I chose to accept their training contract and I haven't looked back since!"

With her game plan in place, Lisa went on to do her LPC at The College of Law in Birmingham. She says: "The College of Law were very accommodating - since I didn't live in Birmingham at the time, they allowed me to attend lessons just two days a week, to save my travel time and costs." With the firm paying for the course and offering a maintenance grant, Lisa was lucky enough to enjoy stable finance throughout her studies.

Then it was off to Browne Jacobson to start her training contract, which she says was brilliant: "I chose the firm because of the great mix of both private and public clients, such as local authorities and large insurance companies. As a trainee I had a lot of responsibility from day one and this really prepared me for life as a qualified solicitor. Lots of friends from university went to the magic circle and other big City firms, and they spent a lot of time doing disclosures and bundling. On my first day, I was ringing up a client! I also attended meetings from very early on."

Lisa's training contract involved medical negligence, property, social care and tax, and now, as a qualified solicitor, she crossspecialises in PI and social care. She runs us through her day-to-day work: "My days are never the same, and nor are my cases - which is why I really like this area. I do defendant work, acting for large insurers and local authorities. Each claim is so different because the parties involved are always different, from hairdressers to doctors to holiday companies. That's what makes the work interesting."

On the day we speak to Lisa, she's working on two separate PI cases: "The first is a claim by an employee who is alleging that she has been mistreated by her fellow employees and that the mistreatment has caused her stress; the other is by a gentleman who had a UPVC door installed and tripped over the threshold, causing facial lacerations. Both very different!" Lisa's social care work is different again: "I do a lot of historic abuse claims, such as children who were in care homes and allege sexual or physical abuse by the employees working at the home. Or the claimant may be a child who was known to social services and is now alleging that he should have been removed from his parents' care at an earlier stage. In these cases, I'd typically be acting for the local authorities and their insurers."

A moment to savour in of any young lawyer's career has to be their first trial victory and Lisa is no exception: "The trial and all the preparation leading up to it were very exciting and interesting. The outcome of the trial was very important, as an adverse judgment could have opened the floodgates to a lot of further claims for our client. Fortunately, the judgment went our way and the floodgates are well and truly locked shut. It has been a particular highlight."

Lisa gets a particular kick out of the sleuthing required in PI work (and that's 'personal injury' PI, not 'private investigator' PI): "I really like investigating the claims and deciding whether we should defend them or settle. We don't want to build up costs if they're not worth defending. I enjoy the report writing that is required after the investigating a bit less. And there are always lots of them that need writing, unfortunately!" She mentions the introduction of the Jackson Reforms as having the potential to effect significant change to civil litigation, including PI: "Among other things, the reforms recommend that lawyers would no longer be able to recover success fees from a losing defendant. Instead, any success fee would be recoverable from the claimant. To allow the claimant to pay for their success fee, general damages should rise by 10%. This will affect profitability for claimant solicitors and I expect some lawyers will be less willing to take on marginal cases."

Skills-wise, you'll need to have a few tools in your PI belt to make it. Lisa explains: "You definitely need to be a people person; this is not a job where you sit at a desk pushing paper around. You do a lot of interviewing and have almost daily contact with your clients. You also need common sense, as there are often claims that involve everyday tasks, like a claim from a pedestrian who sustains injuries when he trips on a pothole. It is not all about your legal knowledge - you need to be able to look at the situation and decide whether it is something that could have actually happened in the way that the claimant has alleged."

Lisa's gap year experience helped to set her out from the crowd and impress Browne Jacobson, and she suggests that you likewise need to think about your own USP: "The trainee market is so competitive at the moment. I think one of the first thing employers look for is good grades. However, as the competition is getting tougher, law firms now consider good grades to be a given and look for something else as well. For example, I worked on death row during my gap year, so that was something a bit different on my application."

Proof of a commitment to the law is also vital, and Lisa advises getting as much work experience as possible - even if it means that you ultimately realise the profession is not your milieu: "If you choose a career in law you are signed up for a long time of studying and hard work, at significant cost, so you want to make sure it is something you really want to do before committing." In terms of PI, placements at a law firm will obviously help; but failing that, work experience with a local authority or insurer will also stand you in good stead, says Lisa.

On the downsides to life as a solicitor, Lisa suggests that it has to be the holidays - especially when compared against other careers, such as teaching. However, she promises that the hard work does pay off: "If you are committed, then you can reap the rewards!"