Practical Law

The scope of duty and the extent of liability of professional advisers are two hotly contested issues at the core of many a dispute between professional advisers and their clients in negligence claims. For the last 24 years, the judgment in South Australia Asset Management Corp v York Montague Ltd, popularly referred to as SAAMCO, has … Continue reading Professional advisers beware – check the terms of your engagement →

Two cases on the apparent bias of arbitrators caught my eye recently. Both cases concerned the apparent bias of a sole arbitrator based on an alleged conflict of interest. In Cofely v Bingham, the claimant applied to the court to remove an arbitrator during the course of an arbitration, under section 24 of the Arbitration Act … Continue reading Arbitrators’ conflicts of interest and apparent bias →

As we have come to expect from the TCC, over the last year the judges have taken a proactive approach in grappling with and adopting practices that aid the efficient management and cost-effective conduct of complex, document-heavy litigation. 

There has been a lot of hype in the past year about predictive coding. Lawyers have prided themselves on being fantastically “in the moment” when proposing this advanced technology to clients, in the context of large disclosure exercises, with the promise that it will save time and money. Indeed, using this latest technology has become an … Continue reading Predictive coding: a helpful new technology or merely the latest buzzword? →

Expert evidence is pivotal in most construction and engineering disputes. This means that, as lawyers, we need to be on top of our game when it comes to expert evidence. Most of us probably think that we are very good at managing the expert-lawyer relationship. However, the fact that expert evidence keeps coming in for … Continue reading The importance of expert evidence →

International arbitration can sometimes be a lengthy process that does not always address the complex nature of construction disputes. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued a revised set of rules for international arbitration, due to come into force from 1 January 2012 (the ICC Rules 2012). It hails these as being the “answer … Continue reading ICC Rules 2012: do they really respond to today’s business needs? →