When Projects Go Nuclear

When Projects Go Nuclear

The role of expert witnesses and consultants in managing the legal and contractual fallout

By BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

Date and time

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 18:30 - 21:00 GMT+1

Location

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

25 Copthall Ave London EC2R 7BP United Kingdom

About this event

  • Event lasts 2 hours 30 minutes

SPEAKERS

Dr Gill Hunt

AGENDA

18:30 - Event start with introductions and announcements

18:40 - Talk commences

20:00 - Talk concludes with optional post-event networking

21:00 - Event close

SYNOPSIS

Despite the best efforts of project managers, some projects are beyond hope of rescue. When that happens, work stops, lawyers from each party are called in and what can be a long and costly legal process starts up.

Expert witnesses play an important role in the process of untangling the fallout and advising the courts on technical matters, but IT expert witnesses have had a very bad press lately following the well-publicised issues with computer evidence in the Post Office Horizon affair.

This session will explain how the legal process works, the expert witnesses’ independent role (and how that is different from consultancy) and what an expert witness is looking for when assessing what has gone wrong, which includes, most importantly from a legal and contractual perspective, who is responsible for any technical problems.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

Gill Hunt is an expert witness who has acted in IT project disputes for 25 years across a range of projects, from small website disputes through to the £600M dispute between the NHS and Fujitsu, and most recently spent a week in court giving evidence on a £100M dispute between TCS and DBS.

The technical material involved takes in everything from (supposedly) straightforward out-of-the-box implementations, through complex infrastructure migrations, to embedded systems for baggage handling and 3D visualisations of luxury cars.

She is a Council Member at The Academy of Experts, the professional body for experts.

Our events are for adults aged 16 years and over.

BCS is a membership organisation. If you enjoy this event, please consider joining BCS. You’ll be very welcome. You’ll receive access to many exclusive career development tools, an introduction to a thriving professional community and also help us Make IT Good For Society. Join BCS today:

https://www.bcs.org/membership/events

If you are attending in person, please familiarise yourself with the Visitor Instructions for the BCS London Office.

Please note, if you have any accessibility needs, please let us know via groups@bcs.uk and we’ll work with you to make suitable arrangements.

For overseas delegates who wish to attend the event, please note that BCS does not issue invitation letters.

THIS EVENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

BCS Consultancy specialist group

BCS Project Management specialist group

BCS Law specialist group

Please visit:

Consultancy specialist group | BCS

Project Management specialist group (PROMS-G) | BCS

Law specialist group | BCS

Organised by

We are all responsible for ensuring technology-led change is safe and positive for everyone in society. At BCS we’re committed to meeting this responsibility under royal charter.

That’s why we set the highest standards of professionalism and best practice in the industry, share knowledge, and develop skills and capability tuned to our evolving digital world.

We’ve been supporting the technology industry since 1957 and our 67,000-strong membership spans 150 countries. Every member actively promotes IT professionalism and we provide them with career development opportunities and bring the community together to address the professional, ethical and economic challenges facing technology today.

Free