This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rozenberg.substack.com

A former chair of the bar has called for a wide-ranging review of the way that expert evidence is used in the courts of England and Wales. Speaking to one of the City of London livery companies just before Easter, Sam Townend KC said the use of experts had led to “something of a crisis in judicial and public confidence”.

He told the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators that the development of the professional expert witness in recent years challenged the principle that such evidence should be independent. As examples, he referred to the trial of Lucy Letby and the use of psychologists in family cases where so-called “parental alienation” has been alleged.

Townend has been speaking about his concerns in the latest episode of A Lawyer Talks. Update 9 June: his lecture has now been published.

My regular podcast is a bonus for paying subscribers to A Lawyer Writes. Everyone else can hear a short taster by clicking the ► symbol on the graphic at the top of this page.