Chris Makin’s Recent Blog Posts
The Sturm Und Drang Of Partnerships
“Partnership is the relation which subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view of profit.” – Partnership Act 1890, Section 1(1). Sounds easy, doesn’t it? A group of like-minded people putting all their skills and enthusiasms into running an enterprise – a legal practice, say – and sharing the fruits of […]
Is Tax Planning Unethical?
In light of the efforts by HMRC to increase the tax take, and in light of attempts by politicians to blur the boundaries between tax avoidance (permissible, if sometimes anti-social) and tax evasion (very naughty, criminal, dangerous, and downright greedy) I am reminded of the “shovel in the stores” judgement of Lord Clyde, Lord President […]
Do You Need An Expert In Hot Tubs?
Silly question, I know, but you more alert litigators will recognise that I’m talking about concurrent evidence. Now, you may think “hot-tubbing” means having a couple of experts in a Jacuzzi, or being boiled alive in a missionary pot. Not so; but either way, it’s likely to make your experts sweat unless they are very […]
Expert Accountants – When Should You Use One To Estimate Loss Of Earnings?
The answer in a nutshell is when professional experience is required to assist the Court to understand a party’s financial affairs. Kemp & Kemp, excellent in many ways, used to deal only very briefly with loss of income for the self-employed, the member of a family business, and the senior executive whose pay and benefits […]
Expert Determination – Is It Alternate Dispute Resolution?
When framing the Civil Procedure Rules, Lord Woolf had the clear intention of encouraging parties in dispute to go away and settle their differences, perhaps with the help of trained professionals. We see this in CPR Part 1 – The Overriding Objective: 1.4(1) The court must further the overriding objective by actively managing cases. […]
How To Prepare For Mediation
Litigation is deadly serious. Lawyers must prepare for it very carefully, and that is a lengthy process. Mediation is different – or is it? Well, it is different, but mediation, too, is deadly serious, and preparation for it must be just as thorough. The biggest difference is the dynamics, because the parties are in charge […]