Shirley Woolham: Minster Law’s ‘path back to profitability’ following legal changes

When the UK’s Civil Liability Act 2018 came into force in May 2021 everything changed for legal firms, especially those that work to support the insurance sector. 

The introduction of the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal and fixed tariffs reduced the overall caseload for these lawyers, while the decline in road traffic accident (RTA) work meant that many firms exited the market, merged or pivoted to higher value work, such as complex injury. 

In claims over injuries defined under the tariff system, claims were no longer funded by a third party insurer and had to be funded by clients themselves, or through a legal expenses insurance policy.

This meant that the traditional business model of many of these industry service providers was uprooted, necessitating strategic rethinking. 

Minster Law, a personal injury specialist firm with a long history of supporting the insurance industry, was one such company. 

But, after “breaking even” at profit after tax of £354,000 in its annual results for 2024, the company posted a figure of £2.6m for the 12 months to June 2025. 

Minster Law’s chief executive, Shirley Woolham, tells Insurance Times that this financial result represents the culmination of the “path back to profitability” she and her leadership team articulated for the Civil Liability Act coming into force. 

She says: ”With such a fundamental change to our business model, we knew we had to lay out a path back to profitability. We had anticipated it would take three years so it’s great to see that we’re now seeing the compound effects on our results.

”The bizarre thing about the legal sector is that change can happen overnight from judgements and you have to navigate that external landscape of the insurance supply chain as well, with influences coming from government, legislators, regulators or other areas.” 

Less to go around, more opportunity

With over 500 staff across the country, Minster Law’s aim was always figuring out a way to remain profitable in its niche despite headwinds.

The personal injury law specialist has prioritised three strategic areas for growth since 2021, with a number of goals for the future also locked in. 

Woolham explains: ”There’s really a trinity of things we’re focusing on, which are insurer relationships, investment in the claims process and making sure we can service claims with all types of complexity.

”There is less value to go around in personal injury claims, so it’s really important to partner with insurers that appreciate that and are still looking to share it sustainably.” 

In seeking to stand out to insurers as a claims partner, Minster has made investments into predictive data technology platforms that can help it reach liability decisions more quickly in the injury claims process. 

It has also continued to explore routes for alternative dispute resolution, influenced by widely publicised court delays that make traditional legal processes take longer and add friction to claims processes for both insurers and claimants. 

Woolham says: ”The court system is in tatters at the minute and there’s significant delays, but it’s not in anyone’s interest to have balance sheets clogged up and customer expectations not met.

“In those cases, especially for more complex claims, it just makes sense to try and find different ways of agreeing solutions between everyone. 

“And, in the modern day, you can use technology platforms to try and identify those solutions more quickly, which is the space we’re interested in continuing to explore.”

Onwards and upwards

With Minster Law now firmly back into profitability, Woolham explains that the firm plans to continue to expand its range of services and expertise while supporting insurers to deliver efficient and fair claims services.

She says: “There is a genuine, real desire from those of us in the insurance claims supply chain to collaborate with insurers to make sure their products perform as expected when they are claimed on, with loads of opportunity to remove friction and make sure processes work. 

”There’s also the commercial benefit of a strong regulatory agenda and we spend a lot of time thinking about how we can reduce insurer overheads as a result of demonstrating their regulatory adherence, for example, by providing them with data that shows outcomes are being met, from a Consumer Duty perspective.” 

With a new office for the firm also opening in the City of London for H1 2026, geographical growth is on the cards too. The move is designed to support further growth into managing serious or complex injury while attracting legal talent.

Woolham says Minster Law is targeting a turnover of £100m by 2030 through long term growth and is “actively seeking acquisitions in the market that will support our diversification strategy, as we continue to push our serious injury capability”. 

Complex and serious injury have driven much of the growth in headcount at Minster too, with the team growing by over 25% in the most recent reporting period. 

Woolham finishes that this focus will drive much of the firm’s future growth, but adds that it is increasingly necessary given the changing nature of injury. 

She says: ”While the RTA claims car park for personal injury has been significantly reduced over recent years, the nature and type of those accidents is going to continue to evolve and keep presenting new challenges. 

”Mobility is shifting and that creates complexity, as well as different types of injury. And now the sector has gone through the Civil Liability Act, those companies that remain are businesses with scalable platforms suited to go forward.”