We would like to thank the experts and speakers who helped to make the Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference, now in its fifteenth year, a successful and relevant event. This year it took place on 6 November 2009 at the Church House Conference Centre in Westminster.
The Right Honourable Lord Justice Leveson, Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales, kindly agreed to give the keynote address. Lord Justice Leveson gave a judicial perspective on expert witness developments. The full speech has now been published on the Judiciary website.
Andrew Jefferies, Litigation Partner with Allen & Overy LLP, then explored a recurring theme - The Expert Witness Industry: Booming in a Recession. This explored litigation trends during the last recession, identified the groups that benefited from those trends, and opportunities for experts to grow their business during the current recession.
Exploring meetings between experts and possible conflicts, the conference heard from Professor Peter Sommer who has been providing computer-related expert witness evidence since 1985.
Presenting the ever-popular Annual Legal Update was Jason Tucker, Solicitor and Deputy Director of the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Programme. In the procedure update Jason explored amendments to Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules, amendments to Part 33 of the Criminal Procedure Rules, media access to the family courts and the UK Supreme Court. Discussion of future developments focused on the Legal Aid Reform consultation, reforming the delivery of health expert evidence and expert evidence in criminal trials. After reviewing delegate feedback forms, the Annual Legal Update will be extended next year.
After lunch delegates separated into the four parallel sessions: - Medico Legal Update
- Andrew Andrews, Director of Medico-Legal Group, Bond Solon.
- The Law Commission Consultation
- Professor Jeremy Horder, Criminal Commissioner, The Law Commission
- Family Law Update
- Lord Justice Wall, Lord Justice of Appeal, Royal Courts of Justice. This speech has now been published on the
Judiciary website.
- Tax Advice for Experts
- Kate Gold and Jessica Hanner, Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Delegates reunited for a lively debate between Christopher Sallon QC and William Boyce QC: This house believes that 'Expert Witness evidence today is too complex for the courts to understand'. The vote from the floor was 50/50. However in the Bond Solon Expert Witness Survey carried out at the conference, 63% of delegates disagreed with this statement (of the remainder 13% agreed and 23% were neutral). Many experts commented that it is the duty of an expert to make their evidence understandable.
Finally, the Debate and Questions session allowed delegates to put their questions to a panel of speakers. As usual, the conference had raised both interest and issues of contention, ending the day in lively discussion.
During the complimentary drinks reception William Boyce QC presented Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificates to a number of this year's graduates. Isabel West, Head of Expert Witness Group at Bond Solon comments: "This is a great achievement for the graduates, who have clearly demonstrated their determination to maintain excellent standards of professionalism, in short, being expert in being an expert."
Collecting their certificates were:
- Mr Howard Reed - Gas Safety
- Ms Clare Collier - Forensic Psychologist
- Mr Trevor Holme - Educational Psychologist
- Dr Peter Jenkins - Psychiatry
- Mr John Gregory - Gas Safety
- Mr Richard Emery - Retail Theft & Fraud
- Dr Simon Halstead - Psychiatrist
- Dr Caroline Jones - Forensic Medical Examiner
- Dr Elizabeth Gillet - Clinical Psychologist
- Dr Graham Mould - Surrey Technology Centre
- Dr Nadim Malik - Cardiology
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