Articles

3PB personal injury and clinical negligence barrister Tom Webb attended Winchester County Court on Thursday 28th May in what is believed to have been one of the first civil trials to be heard in person since lockdown began. His observations on what fellow barristers, solicitors, lay clients, witnesses and judges will be going back to in the coming weeks are set out in this article.

3PB's specialist family law barrister Amy Beddis provides notes on interveners in financial remedy proceedings.

3PB's specialist family law barrister James Legg provides notes on interveners in financial remedy proceedings.

Lydia Pemberton, deputy head of 3PB’s Property and Estate team, and Charles Irvine, a member of 3PB’s Property and Estates team and Commercial team, have reviewed the new changes to the execution of documents brought about shortly before and since the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

New ways of working have meant a rise in technology and electronic communications which brings new formalities when it comes to dealing with the execution of legal documents. In this article, Lydia and Charles assess the current rules on formalities of deeds and documents and give their detailed response to these frequently asked questions from private client and property solicitors:
• What constitutes signature?
• What amounts to attesting?
• What happens if a deed fails to meet the formality requirements?
• What about formalities for notices and section 44 of the Companies Act 2006?
• What is HM Land Registry’s response to the COVID-19 lockdown?
• What are the formalities for wills?

Commercial update: fiduciary duties between shareholders of a quasi-partnership company

Do shareholders in a family or quasi-partnership company, owe each other fiduciary duties?
Seb Oram analyses the recent decision of the Chancery Division in De Sena v. Notaro [2020] EWHC 1031 (Ch) for LexisPSL’s Case Analysis Expert Panel. This article was first published by Lexis®PSL on 11/05/2020.

3PB construction barrister James Davison – together with Anne Wright of Lawrence Stephens – has re-published a guide to selecting and using an expert witness in construction claims. The guide “To be or not to be an expert witness”, which was originally published in Construction Law, provides practical guidance on selecting an expert witness, and advises witnesses how to behave once appointed.

‘The expert witness’s primary duty is to help the court and this duty overrides any duty which experts may have to those who are instructing or paying them’ (see the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR) r 35.3 – ‘An Expert’s Duties’). The expert witness is not the decision maker – the role is to provide information to assist a third party – judge, arbitrator, and adjudicator – to decide a case before them. The danger of conflating the two roles has been well aired in case law. Similarly, case law on what constitutes expert evidence and what does not, and commentary on where expert evidence has gone awry, is rather too plentiful.

This excellent guide gives some background on the use of experts in construction, and provides practical pointers to both the appointment of an expert and to the expert, once retained.

3PB's Vanessa Meachin QC and James Evans of Our Family Wizard produce a guide for family law professionals.

Matthew Wyard considers the meaning of "reasonable endeavours" in public and private law following the modification of the LA's duty to secure special educational provision specified in an EHC Plan under section 42 to a reasonable endeavours duty, and the likely approach of the Administrative Court to applications to enforce provision in Section F via judicial review.

Matthew Wyard and Alice de Coverley have produced a guide to remote hearings in SENDIST including practical top tips for both practitioners and witnesses. They cover topics from using technology to adapting your approach to this new style of hearing.

Faizul Azman summarises R (Gassa and another) v Richmond Independent Appeals Service and another: a new authority on school admissions which contains some interesting obiter observations on the effect of remittal to a new panel following a successful judicial review.

Naomi Webber looks at the recent Upper Tribunal case of F v Responsible Body of School W.  This is required reading for anyone who does disability discrimination work in the First Tier Tribunal, whose approach to registering claims for discrimination came under scrutiny in Re F for the first time and is likely to work somewhat differently going forward.

3PB specialist Civil barrister Richard Wheeler has produced an article on how to get the Court to hear your case during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The article “Getting the Court to Hear Your Case During the Pandemic” provides an insight into county court civil listing during the pandemic which may assist litigants to retain their current court listings. It provides answers to the following questions:

• What does the court’s triage process involve?
• What considerations might the court have in mind during triage?
• Why was my case adjourned when it was suitable for remote hearing?
• What practical issues do judges face during a remote hearing?
• What can litigants do to help ensure a case remains listed and is effective as a remote hearing?