Full Profile

Kate Hargan started her career as a legal aid lawyer at Tuckers Solicitors in London, qualifying in 2002.

She became a criminal duty solicitor in 2004 and qualified into the Special Casework Team, defending high profile cross border prosecutions, including multi-million pound drug importations and carousel frauds.

In 2006 Kate joined Halliwells SHE Regulatory team in Manchester, which later became Clyde and Co's SHE Regulatory Department. From that time, Kate has defended fatal road traffic cases, providing representation at the police station, Magistrates' Court and Coroner's Court.

She has also lectured part time at the University of Central Lancashire on the Legal Practice Course.

Since joining Clyde and Co Kate is regularly instructed by insurer clients in serious and fatal motor cases and acts for a number corporate clients and professional drivers.

Experience

• Ongoing representation of a professional HGV driver following a fatal road traffic accident on M58 which resulted in multiple deaths and seriously injured parties.
• The representation of a senior driver following a fatal road traffic accident in Cheshire involving a pedestrian, including attendance at both an interview and successful technical legal representations on the basis that the driver had a medical defence of non-insane automatism.
• Representation of a professional driver following a fatal road traffic collision in Northamptonshire where the driver was alleged to have caused a serious accident which resulted in a brain injury to a new born baby and catastrophic injuries to her parents. We were able to successfully defend the driver at trial which undermined the credibility of the prosecution's main witness, another driver who our driver had always said was responsible for the accident. The not guilty verdict greatly assisted with the favourable settlement of the civil case.
• Successfully challenged a case in the Court of Appeal – sentence for causing death whilst under the influence of drugs. Reduced sentence from 4 years to 28 months.