William O’Brien, Head of Personal Injury at LEAP, discusses building a best-in-class case management system for PI practitioners and driving efficiency through legal expertise and technology.

With a background in personal injury litigation and a deep understanding of the operational pressures facing claimant firms, William O’Brien brings both practical insight and strategic direction to their role at LEAP. Their work focuses on shaping how personal injury teams navigate fixed recoverable costs, increasing volumes of evidence and rising client expectations — all while maintaining quality and profitability.

At LEAP, O’Brien’s role has been instrumental in developing a market-leading personal injury solution that combines cloud-based practice management with AI-powered tools to streamline workflows, reduce friction, and help firms deliver better outcomes for their clients.

What is your role at LEAP, and what do you find most interesting about leading the Personal Injury area of law?

In short, my role is to develop LEAP’s Personal Injury Law product into a best-in-class case management system for personal injury litigation. Practically, that means shaping the PI product into the most effective, efficient platform on the market for personal injury practitioners.

Moving at LEAP-speed is a well-known phrase within the business, and I’d certainly say it’s true!

What are the challenges facing your area of law right now, and how are you working to overcome them?

The challenges are numerous, but one of the biggest is the continued spread of fixed recoverable costs, which creates real pressure on margins. To remain competitive, firms have to drive efficiency—without compromising quality or client care.
That is exactly where we are focused at LEAP. Our message is simple: firms that use LEAP make more money, because we help them reduce friction, automate repeatable work, and integrate the tools they already rely on.

A good example is our solution for MOJ Portal claims, with a two-way integration that enables direct communication with the Portal from within LEAP.
We’re also building and refining prompts all the time. One I’m particularly proud of allows a fee earner to scan a handwritten attendance note using the LEAP app, convert it into a properly formatted attendance note, and save it to the matter after a quick review. It removes the need to dictate, outsource typing, and then check—so a LEAP user can have a completed note ready minutes after the client meeting.

Another major efficiency challenge is the volume of medical records that practitioners now need to review. LEAP Matter AI can help users interrogate records and, with the prompts we’ve developed, produce detailed chronologies far more quickly than manual review. That also removes the extra step of dictating and typing chronologies—saving time, reducing cost, and improving consistency. And importantly, LEAP users can also create their own bespoke prompts to suit their workflows.
Fundamental dishonesty remains an ongoing risk for claimant firms and their clients. Cross-referencing witness evidence, medical records, and disclosure is essential but time-consuming. Matter AI’s interrogative capability can reduce both the time spent and the risk exposure by helping users stress-test consistency across the evidence.

If you could go back to the start of your professional career, knowing what you know now, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

I’d be less hard on myself. I’d tell myself to focus on working towards positive outcomes, rather than simply trying to avoid negative ones. Early in my career, fear of failure was probably my biggest motivator. Over time, that shifted into a motivation to succeed—and that’s a far healthier headspace to operate in.

What would be your key predictions for the industry in 2025 and beyond?

The UK personal injury market has seen significant consolidation over the last five years, and that trend will continue into 2026. Larger firms have been able to capture a substantial share of claims and drive efficiencies through scale, which raises the barrier to entry for the wider market.
That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. I expect a shift in the mix of claims as the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision in Hassam v Rabot are felt alongside the post-2020 inflationary environment (with general damages awards broadly tracking inflation). In practical terms, we may see fewer claims remain within the OIC process and a greater proportion move to the MOJ Portal route or start by way of a letter of claim—subject to any further Government intervention.

If that happens, it amounts to market expansion in cost-recoverable claims. Many large firms still operate on legacy systems, and the combination of modern case management and AI creates a real opportunity for smaller firms that embrace technology to improve efficiency and reduce cost and exploit this market opportunity. That matters for firms and claimants alike—particularly given the “justice gap” that APIL has highlighted in recent years.

What made you want to work in this area of law?

An old friend once told me my USP was that I could really listen and let people talk about themselves—though I think he might just have meant I’m nosy. More seriously, I’ve always been a people person and genuinely interested in clients’ stories, so PI appealed because it involves real client contact.

Also, no two PI cases are the same. Every file is different, every client’s story is unique, and the work rarely becomes routine. Add to that my competitive streak, and litigation felt like a natural fit.

What has been your most significant or proudest achievement so far?

As a solicitor, one of my proudest moments was representing a client who had suffered a very serious, life-changing workplace injury. He was an overstayer and not entitled to work in the UK. He had clearly been exploited by his employer, and because of his status, he could have been deported at any time—potentially allowing the tortfeasor to escape liability. Given the severity of his injuries, deportation without compensation would have left him facing an extremely bleak future. We secured the compensation he deserved, and it was genuinely life-changing for him.

In my current role, I’m proudest of setting the direction for how we will develop LEAP for personal injury practitioners—and building the team to deliver it. We’re completely focused on developing LEAP into the best-in-class product for PI practitioners working in England and Wales, and I’m proud of how the team is coming together and accelerating our progress.

The conversation continues: More personal injury insights coming soon

William O’Brien’s perspective reflects the changing landscape of personal injury law — where firms must balance increasing cost pressures with the need to deliver high-quality client outcomes. As technology and AI continue to reshape how work is done, leaders like are helping define what efficient, modern PI practice looks like. This conversation is just the beginning. Watch this space for more expert insights from LEAP.

About the author

With 10 years of experience in the communications industry, Dani Pisciottano is the Vertical Marketing Lead at LEAP Legal Software, responsible for shaping and delivering marketing strategies across key areas of law, including criminal, family, estates and personal injury.