Chris Makin’s Recent Blog Posts
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 […]
Is An Expert Determination Always The Final Answer?
In previous articles I have written about How Many Routes to Resolution, the number of ways in which disputes may be resolved. One such route is expert determination (“ED”) which, in my experience, is not used often enough except in dispute resolution clauses in share purchase/sale agreements. ED allows the parties to choose an expert […]
Creative Mediation
Mediation is now so well known that any competent lawyer can rattle off the advantages: quick, cheap, confidential, without prejudice, reduced risk of adverse costs, the parties are in charge, and so on. Today I concentrate on the most interesting aspect, in my view: the ability for the parties to reach an agreement which no […]
Business Valuations
Your client is getting divorced, and the family business forms a significant part of the matrimonial estate. Or your client is a director of a company and has been excluded from management decisions, probably coupled with a claim for constructive dismissal. Or your client (or you?) has for many years been a partner in a […]
Down On The Farm – Understanding The Business
As a forensic accountant I am often required to assist the Court by expressing my opinion on the “might have been” – on the reasonable balance of probabilities, what would have happened to a business but for the interruption suffered by the index event – fire, theft of intellectual property, death or personal injury of […]
Family Matters
Accountants are into everything, aren’t they? And that is especially true when things go wrong. In these blogs you will have read (I hope) about how an accountant can act as expert in commercial litigation, can act as mediator in commercial disputes and much else besides, can investigate fraud, and can trace and quantify the […]