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ARTICLE · 02 FEBRUARY 2021

Do Experts Owe A Fiduciary Duty To Clients?

Gowling WLG
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The courts have long recognised that certain professionals owe their client a fiduciary duty of loyalty - but does that extend to experts in litigation and arbitration?

United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Gordon Bell
Gordon Bell
Christopher Richards
Christopher Richards
Mike Stewart
Mike Stewart
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The courts have long recognised that certain professionals owe their client a fiduciary duty of loyalty - but does that extend to experts in litigation and arbitration? And what is the extent of an expert's duty to avoid conflicts of interest?

We previously reported on A v B [2020] EWHC 809 (TCC) - a case in which the Technology and Construction Court found an expert owed a fiduciary duty of loyalty to his or her client, and restrained a group of delay and quantum experts from acting both for and against a party in two separate arbitrations arising out of the same project. The experts appealed that decision.

In this article, we consider the Court of Appeal's resulting judgment in Secretariat Consulting PTE Ltd & Ors v A Company [2021] EWCA Civ 6.

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