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22 November 2007 / B Mahendra
Issue: 7298 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness
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EXPERT WITNESSes AND FACTS >>
STAFF PROTECTION >>
WITNESS INCAPACITY >>

FACTS, OPINIONS AND BIAS

An expert witness needs to work from a factual matrix. Without facts of some kind, an opinion is not feasible; but in litigation difficulty sometimes arises when the facts themselves are in dispute and the tribunal of fact has not yet spoken—it may be awaiting the expert’s opinion to help it find its voice. How is the expert to proceed in these circumstances?

It is in child care proceedings that an expert usually finds himself in difficulty on account of not knowing which version of the facts is true. Allegations of domestic violence and the abuse of children are especially pregnant with disputed facts.

There may be available strategies which assist in bypassing this problem. A parent could deny violence but there could be convictions in his past which may be able to furnish conclusive proof of a tendency to violence as proved to a court’s satisfaction. Even a charge of an offence may indicate that the prosecuting authority had some credible

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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
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