Ruby Keeler-Williams explains why contemporaneous notes are your best defence should a professional dispute arise.
In the current climate of professional negligence claims, the phrase ‘if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen’ has never been a better mantra to live by.
Whether you are an accountant or tax advisor advising on complex planning, a solicitor giving verbal advice during a negotiation or a trustee managing an asset on behalf of beneficiaries, the ability to evidence your actions and the rationale behind them could be the key difference between resolving a potential dispute and a costly judgment.
Contemporaneous notes (which are a written record made at the time of an event) can be extremely persuasive evidence if you are facing a potential professional negligence dispute.
A core element of our practice is professional negligence and we have obtained many multi-million-pound awards for claimants and successfully defended many claims. I have seen the importance of this issue in practice. In this article, I will explore why contemporaneous notes are vital; the risks of relying on memory alone; and real-life case law, where note taking or lack thereof made a difference. I’ll also set out some practical steps professionals can take to protect themselves.
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