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NLJ this week: Be careful with the evidence of unregulated experts

27 October 2023
Issue: 8046 / Categories: Legal News , Expert Witness
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What is an expert? Do they have to be attached to a regulatory body? What type of accreditation is required? In this week’s NLJ, Dr Chris Pamplin, editor of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses, looks at two recent cases on this conundrum

Pamplin writes that, in one case, the Association of Clinical Psychologists ‘submitted this was a stark and troubling example of an individual who held herself out as an expert but had neither the qualifications nor the relevant skills to do so’.

He includes guidance handed down by Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, on the use of unregulated experts. Finally, Pamplin urges the courts to exercise particular vigilance and rigour when deciding whether to admit the evidence of such an unregulated expert.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Ruth Clare

Freeths—Ruth Clare

National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Partner appointed head of family team

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return

NEWS
Conveyancing lawyers have enjoyed a rapid win after campaigning against UK Finance’s decision to charge for access to the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
A Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruling has reopened debate on the availability of ‘user damages’ in competition claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Edward Nyman of Hausfeld explains how the CAT allowed Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen’s alternative damages case against Meta to proceed, rejecting arguments that such damages are barred in competition law
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