SINCE MAY 1998, when the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 came into force, adjudicators and judges have been tirelessly unravelling its complexities.
They arose from the novelty of the processes, some poor parliamentary draughtsmanship, and not forgetting the ingenuity of people determined to avoid payment.
THE COURTS are increasingly hearing cases concerning confiscation of assets after conviction, usually where the defendant is said to have a criminal lifestyle under The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA 2002).
Following conviction, the court often considers confiscation orders where it must decide whether the defendant has a criminal lifestyle. This means that without your guidance, your client may not even know of the possibility of such action until the moment of conviction. Then, the prosecutor is likely to present a pre-prepared statement indicating if he believes that the defendant has a criminal lifestyle and his view as to how the defendant has benefited from the offences and, where a criminal lifestyle is asserted, his (assumed) general criminal conduct.
ACCURATELY identifying the boundary between two properties often requires specialist knowledge.
The red line drawn around a property on the Land Registry plan shows only the general boundary. It does not identify whether the boundary runs along the centre of a hedge or along one side of it.
AS AN accountant in general practice for over 20 years, I have come across commercial disputes in a variety of forms: between partners, shareholders, family members and trade competitors.
Disputes can become protracted, costly to settle and eventually result in a solution which satisfies neither party. However, there are alternatives which can offer a straightforward and structured method for the resolution of commercial disputes, and I am actively engaged in three of them.
IN THE same way that many lay people do not recognise the various expertise among lawyers, many lawyers do not understand the work that accountants do or, more importantly, how expert accountants might help.
We hear all sorts of descriptions used for expert accountants in legal matters: forensic accountants, expert witness accountants, accountants in litigation support or accountants offering dispute resolution services. With the exception of accountants who might be trained in other disciplines, such as arbitration and mediation, the main area where legal disputes will need the services of the accountant expert are in matters of money.
