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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

Myers & Co—Jen Goodwin

Myers & Co—Jen Goodwin

Head of corporate promoted to director

Boies Schiller Flexner—Lindsay Reimschussel

Boies Schiller Flexner—Lindsay Reimschussel

Firm strengthens international arbitration team with key London hire

Corker Binning—Priya Dave

Corker Binning—Priya Dave

FCA contentious financial regulation lawyer joins the team as of counsel

NEWS
Social media giants should face tortious liability for the psychological harms their platforms inflict, argues Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers in this week’s NLJ
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024—once heralded as a breakthrough—has instead plunged leaseholders into confusion, warns Shabnam Ali-Khan of Russell-Cooke in this week’s NLJ
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has now confirmed that offering a disabled employee a trial period in an alternative role can itself be a 'reasonable adjustment' under the Equality Act 2010: in this week's NLJ, Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve analyses the evolving case law
Caroline Shea KC and Richard Miller of Falcon Chambers examine the growing judicial focus on 'cynical breach' in restrictive covenant cases, in this week's issue of NLJ
Ian Gascoigne of LexisNexis dissects the uneasy balance between open justice and confidentiality in England’s civil courts, in this week's NLJ. From public hearings to super-injunctions, he identifies five tiers of privacy—from fully open proceedings to entirely secret ones—showing how a patchwork of exceptions has evolved without clear design
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