header-logo header-logo

Coming soon? Adverse inferences

14 July 2017 / ​Alexandra Felix KC , Tom Orpin-Massey
Issue: 7754 / Categories: Features , Regulatory
printer mail-detail
nlj_7754_felix

The criminal & civil courts can draw ‘adverse inferences’. Alexandra Felix & Tom Orpin-Massey ask might more regulatory & disciplinary panels do the same?

  • Could regulatory and disciplinary panels be allowed to draw ‘adverse inferences’ from a professional’s non-cooperation?
  • Why and how ‘adverse inferences’ could be introduced.

It is said that with the many advantages of membership of a profession comes the obligation for the registrant to engage with the regulator where concerns have arisen. What, though, when a registrant refuses to engage in the investigatory process and/or does not attend and/or chooses not to give evidence at a regulatory or disciplinary hearing?

This topic has generated significant interest, not least in the High Court, where several judges have commented on the peculiar arrangement whereby the majority of regulators do not recognise the adverse inferences familiar to the criminal and civil courts. For some time now, practitioners in the disciplinary and regulatory fields have wondered whether adverse inferences are on the horizon.

Before 1994 in the criminal courts there was considered

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll