1. This update reviews the evolution of the doctrine of judicial notice in the context of litigation arising in relation to COVID-19. The various decisions on the subject in both Australia and Canada have raised difficult and inconsistent interpretations of the law, including as to the extent to which courts should take judicial notice of matters arising in the course of an evolving pandemic.

2. This update explores the ramifications for solicitors’ practice of the decision of McElwaine J in New Aim Pty Ltd v Leung [2022] FCA 722. The judgment raises the issue of the extent to which it is proper for solicitors to have input into the content of a draft of an expert report and the consequences when the line over which they should not step is exceeded. In the New Aim decision McElwaine J reached the point of concluding he could not be satisfied that the opinion expressed by the expert truly represented her honest and independent opinions and that her opinions were untainted. This led him not just to reject the relevant parts of her report but all of her oral evidence as well. The decision is a salutary reminder of the need for expert reports to be the product of expert opinions, and not contaminated by the views or wishes of commissioning solicitors.