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NLJ this week: Expert witness special on Letby, corroboration & value for money

20 September 2024
Issue: 8086 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Expert Witness , In Court , Criminal , National Health Service , Health
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This week’s NLJ looks at decisions made by Lucy Letby’s defence team, explains why corroborative information in psychological reports is vital, and shares how to gain best value from forensic experts, in a special expert witness triple-bill

First up, Mark Solon, chairman, Wilmington Legal, and founder of Bond Solon considers reasons why Letby’s lawyers may have chosen not to call their expert witnesses to the stand. He writes: ‘As in a game of chess, every move has consequences.’ Solon outlines the potential risks as well as benefits of oral testimony.

Next, clinical and forensic psychologist Dr Tanya Garrett explains why it is essential to include corroborative information in psychological reports. However, it can sometimes be difficult to do this and, once obtained, documents may be full of unnecessary redactions. Garrett offers valuable advice on how to pre-empt or overcome obstacles when obtaining medical records and other corroborative information.

Last but not least, Rakesh Kapila, principal at Sim Kapila, shares his advice on how to obtain best value when instructing forensic accountants. As Kapila writes, ‘it is important input from experts is cost-effective and timely given that their costs can be a significant element in cases involving the use of experts’.

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
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