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The experts’ view

25 February 2016 / Mark Solon
Issue: 7688 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness , Profession
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Mark Solon discusses the current & predicted trends for experts in 2016

The government’s spotlight on expert witnesses has been undimmed over the last year in its continued crackdown on the perceived compensation culture and with its drive to bring down the costs of litigation, particularly in the personal injury field, and especially for cases at the lower end of the spectrum, like whiplash.

Yet despite fee cuts, moves to limit the number of experts giving evidence in cases and the controversial reforms for the instruction of experts in soft tissue cases, the results of the 2015 Bond Solon Expert Witness Survey suggest that it has general been business as usual for most experts, whose work has been undiminished and whose fees have remained static or in some cases increased.

The survey that followed the annual Bond Solon expert witness conference was completed by almost 200 experts across a wide range of specialties.

  • Nearly half (47% ) of the 191 respondents reported an increase in the number of instructions received, going against the grain
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Ceri Morgan, knowledge counsel at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, which reshapes the law of fiduciary relationships and common law bribery
The boundaries of media access in family law are scrutinised by Nicholas Dobson in NLJ this week
Reflecting on personal experience, Professor Graham Zellick KC, Senior Master of the Bench and former Reader of the Middle Temple, questions the unchecked power of parliamentary privilege
Geoff Dover, managing director at Heirloom Fair Legal, sets out a blueprint for ethical litigation funding in the wake of high-profile law firm collapses
James Grice, head of innovation and AI at Lawfront, explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the legal sector
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