Jessica Thurston; Why Clinical Leadership Sets Somek & Associates Apart in Medico-Legal Reporting

In medico-legal reporting, who leads your Consultancy matters as much as who provides the reports.

At Somek & Associates, we have built over 25 years of excellence on a simple principle: we are led by practising clinicians, who still do the work! As the Managing Director and an Occupational Therapist, I have over 32 years of experience as a practising clinician, and over 20 years of experience providing medicolegal reports, and still do prepare reports. As such I understand the realities our associates face.

Working alongside me is Elias Omar, our Head of Medico-Legal Operations, who brings nearly 15 years as a personal injury solicitor. This unique pairing means we truly understand both sides: what our experts need to deliver outstanding work, and what solicitors require to build compelling cases.

𝐋𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬

Our training and quality assurance is led by experienced expert witnesses from OT, nursing, midwifery, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy backgrounds. These associate trainers have over 200 years of combined experience and continue their own clinical and expert witness practice. Our experts learn from people who have faced complex cases, given evidence under cross-examination, and navigated the challenges our experts encounter.

Our Clinical Business Management Team is also clinically-led and matches experts to experts based on deep understanding of the clinical specialisms and case complexity, going beyond simple availability.

𝐀 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐲

Some consultancies operate on volume models with administrative efficiency. Others focus primarily on business growth. At Somek & Associates we take a different approach. We are led by clinicians who care deeply about the integrity of the expert witness role, the development of our associates and the quality of the opinions provided to the courts.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬

For solicitors: you get expert allocation informed by clinical understanding, quality assured reports with withstand scrutiny, and leadership that knows litigation timelines and what makes a report genuinely useful.

For clinicians wanting to become experts: you get mentorship from people who have walked your path, support that understands the expert pressures and quality feedback that develops your practice from reviewers who can engage with your clinical reasoning and not just your formatting.

We look forward to working with you in 2026.

Author: Jessica Thurston, Managing Director, Somek & Associates