Dispute Advisory Newsletter: February 2010

01 March 2010

Conflict of Interest
By Richard Pope, Director
In the present economic climate, when all possible opportunities need to be maximised, one of the most annoying situations for any expert witness is to discover that he is somehow conflicted and, thereby, prevented from taking an appointment.

Most commonly a conflict will arise through an existing or recent financial, business, personal or family involvement with one of the parties. A question that frequently occurs in these circumstances concerns the degree of proximity to the matter that the individual may have had. Is an individual who is employed by a company that has previously provided advice on a matter automatically conflicted when advice is sought from him/her on the same matter by another party even though that individual had not given the original advice himself?

The circumstances that go to explain proximity will need analysis – had that individual had any connection with the giver of the original advice?

Had that individual been in the employ of the firm that had given the original advice at the time that the advice was given? There are many questions in a similar vein that could be put. The most obvious outcome of such an enquiry where a hint of the suggestion that a conflict might exist is to move hastily on from the possibility of conflict and find an expert who is able to state categorically that no such conflict exists. This somewhat obvious suggestion may not be in the best interests of the client of the party seeking to instruct when expertise on a particular subject is deep and narrow and restricted to only a few individuals.

For more information please see link below or contact Paul Kelly, Director Dispute Advisory, paul.kelly@gleeds.co.uk