In this episode of Trusts Talk, Mark Bennett and Adam Hofri are joined by Weiming Tan, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore and a contributing editor to the 35th edition of Snell's Equity, to discuss his recent Law Quarterly Review article on the account of profits in dishonest assistance. Weiming makes the case for his "equal rigour" principle: rather than asking whether a dishonest assistant counts as a fiduciary, which is the "status-centric" approach he critiques, he argues that equity's commitment to protecting the fiduciary relationship should extend the same remedial regime outward to those who dishonestly interfere with it. Drawing on Ian Jackman's idea of facilitative institutions, and navigating the split between the English Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia, the conversation ranges across whether an account of profits should be available against dishonest assistants at all, what the causation test ought to be, the danger of treating fiduciary law as a convenient instrument for holding people to account, and the broader craft of doctrinal scholarship. Along the way Weiming reflects on his intellectual influences and his experience working on Snell's Equity.

References

Weiming Tan's work

• Weiming Tan, "Account of Profits in Dishonest Assistance, the 'Equal Rigour' Principle, and the Retreat from 'Status'" (2026) 142 LQR 58. SSRN
• Weiming Tan, "Bribes, Constructive Trusts, and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002" (2024) 140 LQR 356. SSRN

Cases

• Novoship (UK) Ltd v Nikitin / Mikhaylyuk [2014] EWCA Civ 908. link
• Ancient Order of Foresters in Victoria Friendly Society Ltd v Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society Ltd [2018] HCA 43. link
• Rukhadze v Recovery Partners GP Ltd [2025] UKSC 10. link
• Hopcraft v Close Brothers Ltd; Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd; Wrench v FirstRand Bank Ltd [2025] UKSC 33. link

For a full list of references see this link