01

Evidence and provenance

Nothing is asserted that cannot be opened and read.

Every assertion carries five things: document, location, date, custodian and hash. Opposing counsel can check it. So can the tribunal.

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Fig. 01 — The copy inspected

Illustration

Illustration

Edge of a paper file on a dark table, monochrome

02

The provenance record

Five things, carried by every assertion.

The record is not a footnote. It is generated with the assertion and travels with it into the report.

Document

The identifier as disclosed, and the tranche it arrived in.

Document

The identifier as disclosed, and the tranche it arrived in.

Location

Page, paragraph, register row, cell or programme activity.

Location

Page, paragraph, register row, cell or programme activity.

Date

The date relied upon, and which of the document’s dates it is.

Date

The date relied upon, and which of the document’s dates it is.

Custodian

Whose files it was produced from.

Custodian

Whose files it was produced from.

Fixity

A hash of the copy inspected, matched against the copy disclosed.

Fixity

A hash of the copy inspected, matched against the copy disclosed.

03

Worked example

An assertion, and what stands behind it.

Drawn from a sample matter. Read it the way an opponent would.

Assertion

On 5 April 2023 the engineer instructed a hold on fabrication of the level 3 beams, fifteen days after RFI 118 was raised. [1]

Source [1]

Document

DOC-05230

Location

Email, para. 2

Date

05.04.2023 — sent 16:42

Custodian

Structural engineer — mailbox export

“Please hold fabrication of B3-01 to B3-14 until the revised cleat detail is confirmed. We expect to issue by end of next week.”

sha256 · a8d1…3b6f — copy inspected matches copy disclosed · sample matter

How to check it

01

Open DOC-05230 in the disclosed record: an email from the structural engineer’s mailbox.

01

Open DOC-05230 in the disclosed record: an email from the structural engineer’s mailbox.

02

Go to paragraph 2: the instruction to hold fabrication of B3-01 to B3-14.

02

Go to paragraph 2: the instruction to hold fabrication of B3-01 to B3-14.

03

Compare the hash. The copy inspected matches the copy disclosed.

03

Compare the hash. The copy inspected matches the copy disclosed.

04

Check the date relied upon: the sent time, not a later forward or print.

04

Check the date relied upon: the sent time, not a later forward or print.

04

Who it is for

Checkable by opposing counsel. Checkable by the tribunal.

A citation only its author can follow is not a citation. The record is written for the reader trying to break the argument.

See the product

What each reader gets

Instructing party

A report whose every factual assertion can be verified before it is served.

Instructing party

A report whose every factual assertion can be verified before it is served.

Opposing counsel

Nothing to go for. The assertions they would attack are the ones that open to their source.

Opposing counsel

Nothing to go for. The assertions they would attack are the ones that open to their source.

Tribunal

An analysis that can be followed from record to conclusion without taking anything on trust.

Tribunal

An analysis that can be followed from record to conclusion without taking anything on trust.

Expert

Cross-examination on facts that are on the page, not in memory.

Expert

Cross-examination on facts that are on the page, not in memory.

05

Waitlist

Be among the first.

Exhibit29 opens to a small number of expert practices first. Join the waitlist and we will be in touch.

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