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23 January 2015 / Dr Chris Pamplin
Issue: 7637 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness , Profession
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Compare & contrast (Pt 1)

pampline

Chris Pamplin explains why new guidance should be required reading for all expert witnesses & those who instruct them

The long-awaited update to the 2007 Protocol for the Instruction of Experts to give Evidence in Civil Claims (written by the Civil Justice Council (CJC)) is with us at last. Renamed Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims, it leaves much of the original guidance in place but adds some new material in areas that have changed, or been introduced, since 2007. This short series works through the new guidance drawing out the key points for experts, providing a refresher on the guidance that has not changed, and an introduction to the areas that have.

  • References in the form (para 1) represent the paragraph number in the new guidance.
  • New material is in bold.

Purpose

The purpose of the guidance is now to allow litigants, experts and those who instruct them to “… understand best practice in complying with Part 35 and court orders”. In the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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