This Course seeks to provide an introduction to the world of experts and expert evidence and will examine the role of evidence in disputes resolution, both in the courts and before other tribunals such as arbitral tribunals. Participants will be acquainted with the law relating to opinion evidence (expert testimony), the role of experts in dispute resolution and the relevant Singapore law applicable to expert evidence.
For this intake of the Course, participants will have the option to:
- Attend the full-day Certification Course and including one of two Specialist Tracks; OR
- Attend the Foundational Module, Revision Session and Examination; OR
- Attend the Foundation Module only (no Certificate of Completion issued).
The Specialist Tracks are an enhancement from the inaugural run of the Course conducted in 2022 and will be held in breakout groups which each focus on the specific nuances of giving evidence as: (A) a marine expert or (B) a finance/valuation expert.
Each of these tracks will be led by 1-2 seasoned expert witnesses from these disciplines, who will provide technical and practical advice around providing both written and oral evidence.
The Course will be useful for those who come from a technical background with aspirations of acting as an expert witness. It would also provide a ‘basic refresher’ for those who are already practising as expert witnesses.
A Highlight of Key Areas:
Foundational Module
- Overview of the Dispute Process
- Law of Evidence
- Court Processes and Arbitration
Track A – Marine Experts:
- This session will cover the various forms of arbitration/hearing and the preconceived expectations of marine experts but how that differs in reality. Also we will be covering how to deal with partisan opponent experts’ behaviour, including a workshop/exercise for attendees using a marine-based fact scenario. It will also workshop strategies to recognise and deal with clients attempting to influence experts.
Track B – Finance/Valuation Experts:
- The finance/valuation track will focus on the issues that finance and valuation experts are likely to encounter in the course of their work as party-appointed experts, joint experts and shadow experts. The track leader(s) will highlight common pitfalls that the litigation process can present for finance and valuation experts and, through open discussions on a series of real world case studies, invite participants to consider the steps that finance and valuation experts should take to uphold their overriding obligation to the Courts or Tribunals before which they appear.
Discussion of Problems/Hypotheticals
Professor Leslie ChewSenior Consultant
RHT Law Asia LLP
Professor Leslie Chew, Senior Counsel, is the founding and current Dean of the School of Law at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. He has practised law in one form or another for over 4 decades. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2000. In 2007 he was appointed a judge in the State Courts where he remained until his retirement in 2014. At the State Courts he was the Senior District Judge leading the Civil Justice Division. He retired from the judiciary in 2014. Upon his retirement from the Singapore Legal Service, he returned to law practice. Currently, he is a Senior Consultant at RHT Law Asia LLP. He has an active practice as an arbitrator in International Commercial Arbitrations.
Ms Srividya GopalManaging Director & Southeast Asia Leader, Valuation Advisory Services
Kroll
Ms. Srividya Gopal is Managing Director & Southeast Asia Leader, Valuation Advisory Services at Kroll (formerly Duff & Phelps). She has 26 years of experience in valuations and transactions. She has advised numerous companies on valuations for the purposes of financial reporting, transaction, restructuring, taxation, dispute resolution and financing. She is a member of the Business Valuation Board of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), the global standard setter for valuation. She is a former member of the Institute of Valuers & Appraisers of Singapore (IVAS) Council and chaired their Professional Development Working Group as well as a former member of the global Regulatory Board of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). She is a member of the Intangible Asset (IA) Disclosure Industry Working Group set up by Singapore Government agencies. She has worked on several litigation matters. She is on the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) IP Valuation Expert Witness List.
Dr Tim MossDirector of Science Asia
Brookes Bell Singapore
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a Maters in toxicology, Dr. Tim Moss began a research assistantship for Unilever UK whilst conducting PhD in occupational and environmental toxicology. After obtaining his doctorate, Tim became a toxicology study director at AgrEvo, an agrochemical company which is now Sanofi. Tim joined Brookes Bell London in 2000 and since then has focused on investigating the cause, nature, and extent of damage to a wide variety of commodities, typically but not exclusively involving marine transport. Being a scientist at Brookes Bell has seen Tim travel to over 50 countries, attend on hundreds of vessels and give evidence in over 20 mediations, arbitrations including LMAA, FOSFA, GAFTA and court hearings in several jurisdictions including numerous Chinese courts, New Orleans, New York, Hong Kong, London and Singapore.
Mr Iain PotterExecutive Vice President
J.S. Held LLC
Mr. Iain Potter is a Chartered Accountant, qualified in both the UK (ICAEW) and Singapore (ISCA), specialising in complex loss of profit and valuation engagements and he has been based in Singapore since 2014. Iain is recognised as a leading expert by Who’s Who Legal, with clients praising his "matter-of-fact approach to drafting reports and giving testimony", adding that "He is a fantastic expert witness for quantum, valuation and forensic accounting." Outside of his expert appointments, Iain is a member of the adjunct faculty at the National University of Singapore’s Business School, where he lectures on damages quantum and business valuation disputes. He is also pursuing a number of lines of research, currently including a PhD focusing on the extent to which awards of damages reflect risk and uncertainty.