Getting paid in Scotland Getting paid in Scotland

Getting paid in Scotland

This case illustrates the factors taken into account in Scotland in deciding whether to grant an application for certification of an expert which is...
Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 2 Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 2

Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 2

The Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, chaired by Sir Brian Leveson, has just published Part 2 of the Review with 135 recommendations,...
Alame & Ors v Shell PLC & Anor [2025] EWHC 1539 (KB) Alame & Ors v Shell PLC & Anor [2025] EWHC 1539 (KB)

Alame & Ors v Shell PLC & Anor [2025] EWHC 1539 (KB)

The case was a group litigation concerning extensive oil pollution which affected two regions in the Niger Delta in Nigeria. The judge rejected the...
The expert's flawed understanding of the intermediary's role The expert's flawed understanding of the intermediary's role

The expert's flawed understanding of the intermediary's role

It appears that in this case an expert recommended the appointment of an intermediary without understanding the role of an intermediary. The court did...
Forensic Science Regulator Guidance on Forensic Science Activities: Interpretation and... Forensic Science Regulator Guidance on Forensic Science Activities: Interpretation and...

Forensic Science Regulator Guidance on Forensic Science Activities: Interpretation and...

The Forensic Science Regulator has published new Guidance on Forensic Science Activities: Interpretation and Communication. The Guidance applies to...
Expert Terms and Conditions of Engagement Expert Terms and Conditions of Engagement

Expert Terms and Conditions of Engagement

We have just completed the regular review of our Standard Expert Terms and Conditions of Engagement. The purpose of the Terms and Conditions is...
A Day in the Life of a Veterinary Expert Witness A Day in the Life of a Veterinary Expert Witness

A Day in the Life of a Veterinary Expert Witness

Veterinary surgeon, Jeremy Stattersfield, has been guiding courts on veterinary medicine since 1981. He told us how he got into the Expert Witness...
Podcast Episode 21: Responding to Written Questions Podcast Episode 21: Responding to Written Questions

Podcast Episode 21: Responding to Written Questions

In January's episode of the Expert Matters Podcast, we discuss responding to written questions. We look at the rules and regulations, discuss a...
Podcast Episode 20: Review of 2025 Podcast Episode 20: Review of 2025

Podcast Episode 20: Review of 2025

Join us for the last podcast of 2025! With some festive cheer, we review 2025, with the ten key issues for expert witnesses that we've seen over...
A Day in the Life of an Orthopaedic Spinal Expert Witness A Day in the Life of an Orthopaedic Spinal Expert Witness

A Day in the Life of an Orthopaedic Spinal Expert Witness

Mr Niall Craig is a Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon and Expert Witness specialising in complex spinal cases. He tells us about his professional...
Podcast Episode 19: Transparency and Open Justice Podcast Episode 19: Transparency and Open Justice

Podcast Episode 19: Transparency and Open Justice

In this month's episode of the Expert Matters Podcast, we explore recent developments in Transparency and Open Justice. You can also catch our...
A Day in the Life of a Paramedical Skin Camouflage Expert Witness A Day in the Life of a Paramedical Skin Camouflage Expert Witness

A Day in the Life of a Paramedical Skin Camouflage Expert Witness

Vanessa Jane Davies is the founder of Skin Camouflage Services, an independent expert practice offering paramedical skin camouflage, non-invasive scar...

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News

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Email chains, gross misconduct and the experts who count the cost
Case Updates

Email chains, gross misconduct and the experts who count the cost

Mrs Justice Joanna Smith provides an incredibly useful judgment following the hearing at the High Court in March of this year. Previous case law and legal tests for gross misconduct were addressed and applied given that such allegations underpinned the case.  The parties adduced expert evidence to establish the value of shares on the assumption that warranties had been breached.This update focuses on both experts’ evidence given that the approaches were significantly different and that one was clearly preferred over the other.      

Inspired Education Online Limited -v- Tom Crombie [2025] EWHC 1236 (Ch). 

AI and the Expert Witness
News

AI and the Expert Witness

It’s impossible to ignore Artificial Intelligence (AI) which suddenly exploded into the public conscious a couple of years ago with the launch of ChatGPT. The term AI was actually coined in 1956, and some of the underlying mathematics has been around for centuries. What changed everything was the emergence of transformers, a technology that was developed at Google that has enabled software to interpret complex human language and offer a remarkable facsimile of intelligent dialogue.

AI is infiltrating almost every area of human endeavour, so it is inevitable that it will impact your practice as an expert witness. In this introductory article, AI practitioner and Expert Witness Dr Richard Marshall discusses: the power and pitfalls of AI tools, and how AI will affect the matters on which experts opine.

Biased instructions, harassment and acting pro bono
Case Updates

Biased instructions, harassment and acting pro bono

Few reported cases assist as to expert evidence in cases of harassment and on the issue of injury to feelings as distinct from psychiatric injury. This summary should be read for this reason. It illustrates how the expert should respond to less than neutral instructions. It illustrates how cardiological evidence was analysed in order for the court to conclude that the defendant’s course of conduct had caused a myocardial infarction. It also reveals the charitable aspect of pro bono legal practice.   

Wei v Long [2025] EWHC 912 (KB)

An ounce of reasoning is worth a pound of opinion
Case Updates

An ounce of reasoning is worth a pound of opinion

The defendants denied the validity of a will on the grounds that the testatrix lacked testamentary capacity. The judge found that the conclusion of the jointly instructed expert as to testamentary capacity was inadequately reasoned and evidenced.

Carolyne Mary Parfitt v Victoria Jane Jones & Anor [2025] EWHC 1552 (Ch)

Review of Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims
News

Review of Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims

The Civil Justice Council (‘CJC’) is intending to review its ‘Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims’ with a view to considering whether the Guidance was still useful and whether it should be updated. The CJC would be interested in hearing about any issues which they should consider as part of that review, including any broader policy issues which the CJC should consider. We've included some indicative questions in this article and would appreciate your thoughts. 

Update on EWI Advocacy
News

Update on EWI Advocacy

One of the key roles of the Expert Witness Institute (‘EWI’) is to ensure that policy, rule and regulatory changes are informed by the experience of our members, and the needs of the expert witness community and the wider justice system. In this update, we discuss policy developments and our advocacy work over the last few months.   

An expert report that is entirely equivocal on the key issues is of little assistance to the court
Case Updates

An expert report that is entirely equivocal on the key issues is of little assistance to the court

The court noted that the jointly instructed expert demonstrated a clear lack of understanding of both CPR 35 and the duties owed to the court by an expert in allowing someone else in this firm to answer CPR 35 questions on his behalf. His report was also entirely equivocal on the key issues and therefore offered little or no assistance to the court.

Kate Rodgers v Laural Brookes [2025] EWCC 31

 

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