header-logo header-logo

The end of expert frolics

25 November 2011 / Mark Solon
Issue: 7491 / Categories: Opinion , Expert Witness , Costs
printer mail-detail

Mark Solon appraises Lord Justice Jackson’s views on focusing expert evidence & controlling costs

Lord Justice Jackson delivered his fourth lecture on the implementation of his Civil Litigation Costs Review to 300 experts at the annual Bond Solon expert witness conference earlier this month. He spoke without notes or microphone and looked at two specific aspects of expert evidence: focusing expert evidence and managing the costs of expert evidence. The experts liked what he said on the first but not so much on the second. In essence, reports should be small but perfectly formed and cost less.

Focusing expert evidence

Jackson said courts should make greater use of their existing powers to control expert evidence, in particular by identifying the issues which experts should address at an early stage. “Many expert witnesses have expressed strong support for the above proposal. They would welcome directions given by the court at a case management conference identifying the issues upon which their expert

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

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll