WEBINAR ON PD57AC WITNESS STATEMENTS: NOW AVAILABLE “ON DEMAND”: IF YOU MISSED IT YOU CAN STILL WATCH IT…
The webinar on Mastering PD57AC – Getting Witness Statements Right in the Commercial Courts is now available “on demand”. You can watch it at your leisure. Booking details are available here.
The webinar includes a series of checklists and a draft letter to a witness explaining PD57AC and the need to ensure their statement complies.
“There is far too much lip service paid to PD57AC by those preparing and certifying witness statements. Whether they see this as a way of managing their clients’ desire to be given a voice on the issues in the case or as a convenient way to summarise material, they should not work on the assumption that non-compliant witness statements will not have consequences, whether simply by way of unfavourable costs orders or through the range of sanctions in PD57AC including their being ruled inadmissible.”
Witness statements can make—or break—your case in the Commercial Courts. Since the introduction of Practice Direction 57AC in April 2021, the courts have repeatedly emphasised that compliance is not optional. Yet many practitioners continue to fall into the same costly traps.
As one judge observed, PD57AC is often “more honoured in the breach than the observance.” The consequences are increasingly serious: adverse costs orders, judicial criticism, and even key evidence being ruled inadmissible.
This practical and focused webinar cuts through the complexity to show you exactly what the rules require—and how to apply them effectively in real litigation.
Drawing on recent authorities including KSY Juice Blends UK Ltd v Citrosuco GmbH, Illiquidx Ltd v Altana Wealth Ltd, and McKinney Plant & Safety Ltd v CITB, we examine how the courts are enforcing PD57AC in practice—and what happens when things go wrong.
“Mr Corby for the Defendant accepted that the witness statements in this case, particularly those for the Claimant, contained a considerable amount of inadmissible opinion evidence on the issue of the construction of the contract. In reply to a comment from me, he stated that PD57AC is more honoured in the breach than the observance.”
You will learn:
• What PD57AC really requires (and what it does not)
• How to ensure statements reflect true witness evidence—not advocacy
• The most common drafting errors (and how to avoid them)
• How the courts are approaching non-compliance and sanctions
• Practical techniques to produce clear, compliant, and persuasive statements
“She proceeds over the following 21 paragraphs to scrutinise various documents, carefully explaining to the reader how she says those documents undermine the Claimant’s case. The witness clearly wishes the reader to be in no doubt about what she is doing …The witness statement thereby flatly contradicts the injunction in paragraph 3.6(4) of the Appendix to the Practice Direction”
We will also provide practical checklists and template communications to help you implement best practice immediately.
Recent cases show the risks of getting it wrong:
• Costs disallowed for entirely non-compliant statements
• Evidence given reduced or no weight where witnesses did not properly engage
• Indemnity costs awarded for serious breaches and dismissive responses
“In another case that I have heard recently where questions of non-compliance with PD57AC were raised, counsel suggested that solicitors might feel under pressure to sign certificates of compliance pursuant to PD57AC even where they knew that statements were non-compliant, such pressure arising from the desire of their clients to ensure that they had their day in court. If that is seen by some as a justification for signing statements that certify compliance when there has not been, practitioners need to be aware of the serious consequences that this may have both for their clients and for themselves. No such justification for non-compliance was proposed here.”
The message from the courts is clear: PD57AC compliance matters—and it will be enforced.
Who should attend?
Commercial litigators, solicitors, barristers, and anyone responsible for drafting, reviewing, or supervising witness evidence. The session will also benefit practitioners dealing with witness statements in any jurisdiction.
“I consider Mr Rooney’s declaration that the witness statements are PD57AC compliant to be false. He was not cross-examined before me, and so has not had an opportunity to explain himself. However, I cannot see on the basis of what is before me that Mr Rooney can have been satisfied that the purpose and proper content of trial witness statements and the proper practice in relation to their preparation had been explained to the three witnesses. I cannot see how he can have believed that the two (or three) witness statements complied with PD57AC – because they clearly and obviously do not, and any solicitor properly practising in this court ought to have known that.”
Cost
CLB Member discount is available, see blog or contact webinars@civillitigationbrief.com for more details.
- Webinar Individual Ticket: £100 plus VAT per person
(*£75 plus VAT for CLB members).
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