Professional Liability Conference 2017

Timetable

8.30am Registration and Breakfast

9.00am Welcome from Chairman Ian Croxford QC

9.15am What now for the but for test of causation? Tiuta v De Villiers explained Joanna Smith QC

• The but for test of causation as expounded in Kuwait Airways and NyKredit
• The complications caused by Preferred Mortgages
• The decision in the court of Appeal in Tiuta v De Villiers
• The tussle between substance and form
• The future of the but for test

9.35am Director’s Negligence, Exoneration and Indemnity: the good, the bad and the ugly Nikki Singla

• The risk confronting corporate and fiduciary services business.
• Who would want to sit on a board?
• Defending the negligent but honest
• Responsibility: board or individual?

9.55am Does Stone & Rolls survive following the decision in Patel -v- Mirza Iain Pester

• The new common law doctrine of illegality as a defence to a civil claim – the Supreme Court decision in Patel v Mirza
• Auditors’ liability for failing to uncover a fraud: Is Stone & Rolls Ltd v Moore Stephens still good law?

10.15am Break

10.45am Workshops (please select one)

Workshop 1 – Expert evidence- recent developments and practical difficulties Lexa Hilliard QC, Jonathan Hilliard QC, Emer Murphy

• How far can you go in getting expert evidence in solicitors’ negligence cases?
• The Court’s clampdown on expert evidence generally as part of the recent focus on managing cases actively
• Commenting on drafts and instructing experts- how far can you go?
• Changing experts- where are we now?

Workshop 2 – Mitigation by Litigation and Settlement Lawrence Cohen QC, James Ayliffe QC, Sebastian Allen

• The extent of the duty to mitigate by litigating against third parties
• The effects of compromise on causation and quantification
• The boundaries to the power to compromise third party claims
• The format of the workshop will be a short talk on each section followed by a guided work through of a problem based on Symrise v Baker & McKenzie

Workshop 3 – Fraud and the Professional Joanne Wicks QC, Tim Penny QC, Tiffany Scott

• Does a claim of fraud help or hinder?
• Problems of pleading and proof
• Limitation issues

12.00pm – The Top 10 Myths in Professional Liability Litigation Jonathan Seitler QC

• What are the big shibboleths in our work?
• Where do they come from?
• Which are challengeable and which are not?
• Which are not standing the test of time?
• A modern guide to thinking outside the box

12.20pm – “The 5 minute Pitch” Chaired by Joanne Wicks QC

Pitches by – Emily McKechnie, James Walmsley, Tom Roscoe, Elizabeth Houghton, Jamie Holmes

Individuals from Wilberforce Chambers will pick a recent case and attempt in turn to persuade you that it is the most important case from a Professional Liability perspective. They will have 5 minutes each. Who is the most effective? You, the audience, will decide.

12.50pm Closing – Ian Croxford QC

1.00pm Lunch (seated buffet)