Osbornes mourns the passing of Stephanie Prior

It is with great sadness that Osbornes Law announces the passing of our much-loved friend and colleague, Stephanie Prior. Stephanie passed away on Saturday 15th February 2025 after a courageous private two-year battle with cancer.

Stephanie’s life and career was characterised by her desire to help and care for people. Before entering the legal profession, she studied and became a registered general nurse. It was then in the early 1990s that she returned to education and completed a law degree in London, qualifying as a solicitor in 1997. Upon qualification Stephanie was resolute in her determination to specialise in clinical negligence law, and she quickly became a highly respected name in this area. Stephanie was an exceptional lawyer whose devotion and compassion to her clients was not only evident to the hundreds of families she represented throughout her twenty-eight-year career, but also to her peers, who described her as ” hugely dedicated and adored by her clients.”

Stephanie joined Osbornes Law in 2014 as a partner and Head of Medical Negligence. She spent the following ten years building a department and team which shared her ‘client first’ ethos and values. Her hard work and determination culminated in her being named ‘Clinical Negligence Lawyer of the Year’ in 2019 and her team being shortlisted as ‘Clinical Negligence Team of the Year’ in 2024. Unsurprisingly, Stephanie took a very much ‘business as usual’ approach throughout her treatment over the last two years, and continued to not only spearhead the growth of her team, but also to nurture the junior lawyers under her care. A prolific writer, she continued to write and highlight instances of medical negligence that she was handling. Her writing and cases brought her media attention, and she was often called upon by broadcasters including the BBC and Channel 4 for commentary on her area of law. Such was Stephanie’s dedication that she recently invited the ‘cameras’ into her home when travelling for interviews became difficult for her.

In her passing, Osbornes Law has lost a truly remarkable individual and lawyer. Stephanie was at the pinnacle of her career having accomplished so much and no doubt would have gone on to achieve much more. Her legacy, however, is in the many lives she touched and, in the families she gave voice to in her tireless fight for justice on their behalf.

Stephanie was a doting mum to her two children Henry and Lilly, who are being supported by their family at this difficult time.

As a firm, it is also our intention to memorialise Stephanie with a fitting tribute, which will be announced in the coming months.

If you wish to send your condolences to Stephanie’s family, you can do so via our managing partner, Joanne Wescott (joanne.wescott@osborneslaw.com), and we will ensure it reaches them.