Chris Makin’s Recent Blog Posts
Post-Nominals – Do They Matter?
This is a moral tale about your choice of expert. A little while ago, I wrote about Andrew Ager, an “expert” appointed by the CPS to give evidence at the trial of some men accused of the sale of voluntary carbon credits (me neither!). His incompetence, lack of experience and malpractice were quite breathtaking, causing […]
Can You Challenge An Expert Determination?
About a year ago, I wrote an article “Is an Expert Determination always the final answer?” – in which I explain how difficult it is for a party to a dispute settled by Expert Determination to challenge the expert’s decision. Here is an update. I am keen that ED is used for many kinds of […]
There Really Is An Alternative
Blood is thicker than water, and a happy family is a wonderful power for good. Those contemplating legacies to their loved ones will still have rosy memories of the baby twins, the nephews and nieces when young, of dangling a new-born on the knee…wonderful! But when the family falls out, blood curdles and that power […]
Beware Conflicts Of Interest
As I write this, David Cameron is getting into increasing difficulties over his relationship with the failed financier Lex Greensill, there are problems over senior civil servants having paid jobs in the private sector, and even Matt Hancock has problems over his family connections with a firm which provided PPE to the NHS. And then […]
Is Your Expert An Amateur?
In a recent edition of Update, the magazine of The Academy of Experts, Merryck Lowe, a forensic partner at BDO, wrote this: “There was a time when a reasonably competent professional accountant could feel comfortable if called upon to give ‘occasional’ evidence to our Courts, without further training or experience and without feeling that only […]
Can Your Expert Truly Sign The Statement Of Truth?
An expert’s report under CPR must conclude with the Expert’s Declaration stating that the expert knows his duty to the court and has complied with that duty. There must then be a Statement of Truth, which used to say: But as from 1 October 2020 that statement is extended, with these words: It is relevant […]
Are You An Unfit Director?
Relax! This article has nothing to do with Joe Wicks, fitness regimes, personal training, or how Madonna maintains her eternal youth. It considers the expectation that company directors shall carry out their duties responsibly, meaning that they must have regard not just to the interests of themselves or their company, but also to what might […]
When Lawyers Wreck Their Case
In recent blogs I have gone on at some length about inadequate “experts”, and the damage they can do to your carefully prepared case. Think of Prof Sir Roy Meadow, probably the most notorious example, the proponent of “Meadow’s Law” (one cot death is unfortunate, two are suspicious, three are murder) who pretended to be […]
Expert Determination – What’s New?
As a chartered accountant (FCA) who practises exclusively in legal matters – forensic accountant, expert witness, mediator, expert determiner – my experience is that expert determination (ED) is considered by litigation lawyers too infrequently. Of course, it is common practice for company sale/purchase contracts and the like to include a dispute resolution clause (DRC), but […]
Experts – When Even The Lawyers Get It Wrong
One of the most notorious, and tragic, cases of an expert getting it wrong was that of Prof Sir Roy Meadow, an eminent paediatrician, who gave evidence for the prosecution in the case of R -v- Sally Clark. Mrs Clark, a lawyer married to a lawyer, had lost two babies through cot death. The headline […]