Annual Conference 2024

As Expert Witnesses come under continual scrutiny in the courts, this year’s conference will provide essential insight and practical advice to help you further develop your knowledge and skills, get instructed, and win repeat business. We will hear from senior members of the judiciary, solicitors, and experienced experts as we reflect on important legal updates and ethical issues and consider what instructing parties are looking for. You will also be able to participate in a range of practical interactive sessions and discussions which will enable you to reflect on your practice.

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Speakers

The Rt. Hon. Sir Keith Lindblom

The Rt. Hon. Sir Keith John Lindblom was called to the Bar in 1980 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1996, a recorder in 2001 and a deputy High Court judge in 2009.

He was appointed as a judge of the High Court in 2010. In January 2013 he was appointed President of the Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber, in April 2014 he was appointed as lead judge of the Planning Court.

In November 2015 he was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal, where he is the Supervising Lord Justice for Planning.

He was appointed as Vice-Senior President of Tribunals on 23 March 2018 and as Senior President of Tribunals on 19th September 2020

The Hon. Mrs. Justice Bacon DBE

The Hon. Mrs. Justice Bacon DBE was called to the Bar in 1998. She became a Deputy High Court Judge in 2017. She was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division in October 2020. She is the youngest woman ever to be appointed as a full time High Court Judge. In February 2022, she was appointed as the President of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber). She also hears cases in the Patents Court.

Kitty St Aubyn

Kitty was called to the Bar in 2010 and has over 12 years’ experience as a Barrister in trials and senior appellate courts, professional disciplinary tribunals, inquests, and public inquiries. From 2011-2022 she practiced at the leading set 3 Raymond Buildings, acting both as sole and led counsel. Kitty now practices as an employed barrister at CMS, a multinational law firm, where she specialises in criminal law, financial sanctions, investigations, and compliance, representing businesses and individuals in contentious and non-contentious matters.

Professor Penny Cooper

Penny was called to the Bar in 1990. In 2002 she moved into academia and became a professor in 2009. She co-founded and chaired The Advocate's Gateway – this free online resource is endorsed by the senior judiciary and contains best practice guides for cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses and parties. Penny devised ‘the ground rules approach’ for witness evidence, a system now used around the globe.

Penny is a visiting Professor at the University of London, and an academic associate at 39 Essex Chambers, London. She works with international law firms, governments and judicial training organisations in many jurisdictions on a variety of projects; at the heart of everyone is the aim of supporting witness participation. And when she is not doing that, she loves nothing more than cycling to the Devon coast with a flask of tea in her pannier and having a dip in the sea with her friends.

The Honourable Mrs Justice Cockerill DBE

Mrs Justice Cockerill was educated at her local state primary school and then Lady Eleanor Holles School (on the Assisted Places Scheme) before reading Jurisprudence at Oxford. She was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1990 and joined Essex Court Chambers (then 4 Essex Court) in 1991. She practised as a Barrister from those chambers until 2017, specialising in commercial cases and in compelled evidence.

She was appointed a QC (now KC) in 2011. She was appointed as a Deputy High Court Judge in 2015, sitting in the Queen’s Bench Division (now King’s Bench Division), specifically in the Administrative Court and the Commercial Court. She became a High Court Judge in 2017, assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division (now King’s Bench Division) as one of the Judges of the Commercial Court. She is also authorised to sit in cases in the Financial List, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Chancery Division, Technology and Construction Court as well as in other King’s Bench work, including crime.

She was Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court from August 2020 until 31 July 2022.

She is the author of ‘Compelled Evidence in Civil Proceedings’ (2012 OUP), Eleanor of Castile – The Shadow Queen (2014 Amberley) and Eleanor of Aquitaine – Queen of France and England, Mother of Empires (2019 Amberley).

Sir Max Hill KC

Sir Max Hill KC is one of the UK’s preeminent barristers, having been lead counsel on many of the country’s most high-profile cases and also spending five years as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the most senior non-political public prosecutor in England and Wales.

Max has more than three decades of experience defending and prosecuting some of the most complex financial crime, high-value fraud and criminal cases to arise out of the UK, covering issues such as cartel investigations, corruption, corporate criminal liability and terrorism funding. He has held a number of prominent positions, including serving as the UK Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Leader of the South Eastern Circuit, Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association and Chairman of the Kalisher Trust. From 2018 to late 2023, Max served as the UK DPP, the most senior non-political public prosecutor in England and Wales after the attorney general and solicitor general.

Master Stevens (Amanda Stevens)

Amanda’s working career commenced as a hospital manager in the National Health Service where she qualified as a member of the Institute of Health Services Management.

Subsequently moving into the law, she rose through the ranks to become partner in charge of the top tier personal injury and clinical negligence group at international firm Charles Russell (now Charles Russell Speechlys).

Alongside her law firm responsibilities, Amanda was elected President of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers in 2008/2009 after a number of years serving on their national executive committee. This work involved regular contributions at national conferences and in the press. She assisted in drafting numerous briefing papers to MP’s and the Lords on issues of law reform.

In July 2010 she moved to national injury specialist firm Irwin Mitchell, as a partner based in their London office, with responsibility for growing a large team specialising in medical law and serious injury cases. She also chaired the firm’s medium term strategy group nationally and continued working on law reform projects. At this time Amanda served on the Civil Procedure Rules Committee for six years until 2015, a busy era due to implementation of the Jackson reforms.

Amanda was appointed by the Lord Chief Justice to the judicial role of Deputy Master in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court in 2015, a part-time position which she held alongside a full-time senior managerial position at niche injury specialist law firm, Hudgell Solicitors from 2016. She became Hudgell’s first Chief Executive and during her tenure the firm’s organisational structure was completely overhauled, and their civil liberties team was firmly established with the arrival of the first Post Office claims. That period culminated in the firm being awarded entry to The Times Best 200 law firms listing for the first time, followed by Amanda’s appointment to the full-time bench in London as Master of what is now the King’s Bench Division of the High Court.

Amanda continues work on law reform projects including most recently chairing the Civil Justice Council sub-committee responsible for reviewing the pre-action protocols for personal injury. She has a long-standing interest in expert witness work and was a Governor of the Expert Witness Institute for many years until 2020.

Her Honour Judge Tayton KC

HHJ Tayton KC is a Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, and has been a judge since 2011. She is authorised to sit in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division and is a Course Director for the Judicial College. In her practice at the Bar, she specialised mainly in serious criminal cases and regularly used the services of experts from diverse disciplines. As a judge she has dealt with a wide range of offences including those involving Class A drug importation and supply, firearms, fraud, confiscation, health and safety issues and road traffic deaths that have required the admission of expert evidence. In addition, particularly when sentencing, she has to consider psychiatric and psychological reports on the mental health of defendants. In her current role in the main she presides over a variety of homicide cases in which experts typically play a crucial role

Paul Bleasdale KC

Paul Bleasdale KC is a highly skilled, leading silk with over 30 years’ experience in both Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury. Recognised as a leader in his field by both Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 directories, Paul represents both claimants and defendants in high value, catastrophic cases that have often resulted in spinal injury, brain damage and amputations. Renowned for his formidable and pragmatic approach within the courtroom, efficiency with experts and excellent client manor, Paul is a go to within the Midlands Circuit. Further appointed as a Recorder and Part Time Tribunal Judge

David Tyack KC

David Tyack KC is ranked in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 as an extremely knowledgeable, meticulous, and strong advocate for Serious Injury litigation. Having gained extensive experience in catastrophic and fatal injury claims, as well as becoming a leading name amongst the Spinal and Brain Injury Field. Aside from his Injury practice, David is recognised as a Band 1 Clinical Negligence barrister, regularly delivering professional talks and training, which have landed him a previous nomination in the Legal 500 awards as Clinical Negligence Silk of the Year

Dr Richard Brown

Richard is a chartered safety practitioner and chartered building engineer, with over 30 years of industrial experience in heavy industry, construction, the power industry, and logistics. He holds a doctorate in organisational culture and MSc in safety management.

Whilst Richard acts in criminal, civil and arbitration matters, he mostly works as an expert in criminal cases for both the defence and prosecution. His expertise covers work at height, workplace transport, construction safety management and safety management systems.

Jessica Thurston

Jessica Thurston is the Managing Director (Elect) of Somek & Associates. She has been a Care and Occupational Therapy expert witness for over 22 years. Somek & Associates is one of the leading providers of expert witnesses in the UK, delivering highly professional trained experts including occupational therapists, care experts, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, and other allied health professions. Jessica specialises in upper & lower limb amputee rehabilitation and trauma & orthopaedics and has considerable experience working with individuals who have lost limbs secondary to meningococcal septicaemia. She has given evidence in court and is highly recommended by Claimant and Defendant solicitors and barristers. She holds the Cardiff University Bond Solon Civil Expert Certificate.

Daniel A. Correa

Daniel Correa is the Managing Director of DAC Consulting Services worldwide. Daniel is a Mechanical Engineer by profession, and holds a Master of Science in Project Management from the University of Manchester. Daniel has also completed a Senior Management Programme at the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School.

Daniel is a Chartered Engineer in the United Kingdom, a member of the Mechanical Engineering Institute in London, a Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Member of the Project Management Institute, a Member of the Academy of Experts, and a Member (and Director) of the Expert Witness Institute.

Daniel has extensive experience as a Senior Forensic Engineer, as a Technical Expert, and as a Scheduling Expert (Forensic Delay and Disruption Analysis), with a wide range of expertise within the Engineering and Construction sectors. Daniel has been appointed by lawyers, insurers, and corporations in various occasions, to analyse different types of complex claims. In the Construction sector Daniel has been appointed as a Delay Expert, tasked with the assessment of the timeline of a project, both in a prospective manner (to suggest accelerating actions and monitoring of a construction Project), and in a retrospective manner (to examine the actions or inactions that could have generated delays in a project as well as cost overruns).

Similarly, Daniel has been appointed on several occasions as a Coordinating Expert, leading complex construction disputes by managing different commercial and technical disciplines. This has led to the preparation of comprehensive and cohesive Expert Reports under one organised group.

Daniel has acted as an expert witness in various jurisdictions. He has given evidence before arbitral tribunals (including ICC, LCIA, DIAC) and in High Court (UK) on a number of occasions, and has been deposed in the US.