Civil Evidence for Practitioners

Civil Evidence for Practitioners is a practical, “hands-on” textbook on civil evidence. It clearly explains the evidential issues that apply at each stage of a civil litigation action and offers best practice advice on the steps that should be taken and what actions should be avoided.

The book provides support for the practitioner in the following ways:

• Explains all the practical ‘do’s and don’ts’of civil evidence
• Teaches effective case analysis techniques
• Explores the nature of the duty to preserve evidence pre-action and pre-trial
• Demonstrates how evidence affects the drafting of pleadings
• Explains the nature of digital evidence
• Shows how to project manage the process of e-disclosure and costs estimates for disclosure
• Looks at offensive and defensive strategies in the context of disclosure
• Shows how to use evidence to prepare effective witness statements
• Explains the use of expert evidence in pre-action, pre-trial and trial contexts
• Explains how to use evidence persuasively in drafting skeleton arguments
• Shows how to prepare cases properly for trial
• Deals with the latest case law in civil evidence

NEW TO THIS EDITION

Major new chapter on e-disclosure – dealing with the project management of the disclosure of electronically stored information, including identification of sources of digital evidence, preservation, collection and review of data, together with templates for the preparation of cost estimates for the e-disclosure process.

Brand new chapter on offensive and defensive strategies – this chapter examines the tactics for making and resisting pre-action and interim applications for disclosure to maximum advantage (in the context of disclosure applications).

Post-April 2013 changes to the Civil Procedure Rules – including the new provisions for relief from sanctions and the Court of Appeal’s new tougher, structured approach to such applications in Mitchell v MGN Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1537.

The Supreme Court’s decisions in – Rugby Football Union v Viagogo Ltd [2012] UKSC 55 (Norwich Pharmacal orders); and R. (Prudential) v Special Commissioner for Income Tax[2013] UKSC 1 (legal professional privilege).

The book also covers recent developments arising from:

• Re Atrium Training Services Ltd [2013] EWHC 2882 (Ch) (on how to determine whether a party is in breach of an “unless” disclosure order).
• Smith v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2013] EWCA Civ 1585 (pre-action disclosure).
• Interflora Inc v Marks & Spencer Plc [2013] EWHC 936 (on what constitutes expert evidence for the purposes of CPR Part 35).
• Interflora Inc v Marks & Spencer Plc [2013] EWCA Civ 319 (“Interflora 2”) (on the use of consumer survey evidence).
• Boyd v Incommunities Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 756 and JW Spear & Sons Ltd v Zynga Inc [2013] EWHC 3348 (Ch) (on the use of anonymous hearsay statements).
  

“Mr. Hibbert has succeeded triumphantly…”
 Iain Goldrein QC, New law Journal

“I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to be a shrewd litigation lawyer. There are ideas and solutions for the problems of evidence which arise in almost every litigator's workload and you will be a better litigator having read it.”
James Stuart, Construction Law Journal

“This is an excellent text book which admirably covers the wide area of civil evidence and which achieves the stated aims of the author”
Lisa Boyd, Journal of Personal Injury Law