header-logo header-logo

14 August 2013 / Martin Burns
Issue: 7573 / Categories: Features , Profession , ADR
printer mail-detail

Shades of grey

istock_000003104233medium

Martin Burns offers a guide to identifying conflicts of interest in dispute resolution

When RICS appoints a third party to resolve a dispute we must take care to ensure the appointee is appropriately qualified to discharge the role, and has no conflicts of interest. But how do we decide if someone is conflicted?

Black v white

Life would be much easier if we had a list of every possible situation that could arise and labelled each as either “black” to indicate something is a conflict, or “white” to indicate it is not.

Those who like to keep things simple may be heartened to learn that I actually believe the subject of conflicts is indeed about black and white situations. Less pleasing perhaps is the reality that black and white situations are tiny in number when compared to those that are shades of grey.

For me, black indicates a tiny number of situations where it is obvious and undeniable that a conflict exists, and anyone would recognise this. White represents a tiny number

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—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
back-to-top-scroll