Sally Leonards is a partner in the JMW Clinical Negligence department and has almost 30 years’ experience in the field. She undertakes high-value clinical negligence work and has a particular interest and expertise in complex brain and spinal injury cases.
Sally has settled numerous multi-million-pound cerebral palsy cases for children with severe physical and learning disabilities due to maternity failures. Between 2020 and 2022 she obtained two separate settlements of £25 million, and two others amounting to £24 million and £15.2 million, for children who have suffered devastating brain damage at birth and have lifelong care needs. The settlements will enable the children to receive the care, equipment, and specialist accommodation they require.
As well as settling numerous multi-million-pound brain injury cases, Sally also has extensive experience of cauda equina syndrome claims. Sally has settled numerous such cases, her last few settlements being £800,000 in 2024, £1.7 million in 2023 and £1.2 million in 2022. The compensation secured has enabled her clients to cope with their lifelong disabilities and achieve financial security.
Sally has been ranked as a 'Leading Individual’ in legal industry guides Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 for many years and has been described as “outstanding.”
A contact interviewed by the 2025 edition of Chambers and Partners said that “Sally has vast knowledge of not only the legalities of cases but also the medical facets”.
Meanwhile the Legal 500 also ranks Sally as a leading partner and states that she is an expert in cerebral palsy cases and cauda equina claims. It quotes the following feedback from the sources it interviewed:
"Sally Leonards' enormous compassion and legal knowledge, combined with a down-to-earth approach, makes her a great choice."
"Sally Leonards is a tenacious litigator. She is efficient and gets to the point, but she is also very caring with clients."
Sally has a reputation for winning unusual and complex cases due her tenacity and attention to detail, which has been commented on by the barristers with whom she has worked.
Joining JMW’s clinical negligence department in 1996, Sally became a partner in 2001. She has been a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers for over 25 years and is a member of the Acquired Brain and Spinal Injury Network and charity Action against Medical Accidents. Sally also works closely with the charity the Child Brain Injury Trust.
In Sally’s spare time she enjoys yoga and Pilates. She is also a lover of ballet and contemporary dance and is a regular attender at The Lowry theatre.
