SOLICITOR Trish Haw-kins has a difficult job. As head of Newcastle law firm Irwin Mitchell's court of protection unit, she manages multi-million pound settlements for brain-injury victims and tries to ensure the award will support them for the rest of their lives.

Mrs Hawkins said: "People who have been awarded large damages settlements, such as £3m or £4m, find friends and family come out of the woodwork thinking they will go and buy a Ferrari.

"The court of protection makes sure that doesn't happen.

"Sometimes, families want to manage the finances themselves, but often brain-damaged people don't want to have to ask them for money and sadly, you do have families who take advantage.

"We have to ensure the person is given the best quality of life and have to budget their money so they can get care and help for the rest of their lives."

It is also part of her remit to deal with the emotional effects and difficult family situations that can arise from such a tragedy to make sure the right decisions about the settlement are made.

Irwin Mitchell is one of the UK's fastest growing law firms, with offices in Newcastle, Birmingham, London, Leeds and Sheffield. In the past four years, it has doubled its turnover and in the past ten years, it has grown by 725 per cent.

At the Newcastle Grey Street office, which opened last year, solicitors provide a number of personal injury services, including workplace injuries, clinical negligence and severe injury claims.

During the course of her work, Mrs Hawkins has found she has been dealing with an increasing number of court of protection claims, specifically for victims of brain injury, and the firm decided to set up a unit to look after them. It is work that can often be challenging and dealing with such sensitive issues means a lot of meetings with victims and families can be emotionally-charged.

Mrs Hawkins said: "Brain injuries for families are just devastating. It can tear someone's life apart.

"One client we have was beaten up in Durham and left very badly brain-damaged. He did make a recovery, but it affected his memory. He was due to get married, but that has been put on hold. The effect it can have on a family is unimaginable."

Law firms across the region regularly deal with similar claims, conducted through a judge at London's Court of Protection, which offers help to people lacking mental capacity, such as Alzheimer's disease sufferers.

But with an increasing workload in brain-injury claims, Irwin Mitchell decided to establish the North-East's first unit dedicated to dealing with such injuries and chose Mrs Hawkins to lead it.

She represents clients who have been injured in road traffic accidents, victims of assaults or people born with brain problems as a result of medical negligence.

The role of the unit is to manage any compensation awarded by the courts so the victim can have the support they need, be it 24-hour nursing care, a specifically adapted home, transport or therapy.

They can also act for the injured party, and liaise with social services, councils and NHS to make provision for clients.

Mrs Hawkins said: "As well as managing the money, we deal with associated issues such as family problems where a parent has been brain injured and can't cope with the children.

"For some clients, it is the day-to-day running of their lives - some don't understand what a five pound note is.