19 January Case Updates Experts making the evidence fit their own conclusions do not meet their duty to the Court Expert evidence, Medical expert, CPR Part 35, Duty to the court, Judicial critism, Credibility of expert, 16. Criticism and Complaints, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing, 13. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements A medical expert witness was not helping the Court by trying to make the evidence about a child's injuries fit their own conclusions. LCC v V & B [2023] EWFC 268 (18 August 2023)
28 September Case Updates Stay within your expertise - you don’t become an expert by virtue of having acquired knowledge in the course of the case itself Expert evidence, Cross-examination, Expertise Remember the duties of the expert as set out in CPR Pt 35 and Practice Direction 35. Don't stray into giving evidence on matters falling outside your expertise.
26 May News Easy, Tiger! Expert evidence, duty to restrict evidence, CPR, 06. Rules and Regulations Expert evidence must always be firmly tied to an issue which arises in the case.
17 April News The importance of knowing, and complying with, the rules relating to the presentation of expert evidence Expert evidence, Compliance with court rules, Instruction from solicitor, Courtroom evidence, family court, 06. Rules and Regulations, 08. Working with Instructing Parties, 15. Giving Oral Evidence The judgement in a recent case highlights issues not only relating to the behaviour of an expert but also in regard to considerations the instructing parties must make, namely: to ensure that the expert is an appropriate expert, to instruct them properly and to ensure that the report answers the questions posed and is compliant with the rules and practice directions.
6 February Case Updates Declan Colgan Music Ltd v Umg Recordings, Inc [2023] EWHC 4 (Ch) Admissibility, Expert evidence, Fact v opinion, 06. Rules and Regulations, 15. Giving Oral Evidence “Are experts limited to giving evidence of opinion?”
7 December News Should you challenge an expert's view without calling them to court? Expert evidence, Expert Report, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing The short answer is No
7 December News Attack on expert's credibility rejected Expert evidence, Credibility, Cross-examination, reliability, 11. Report Writing, 14. Changing your opinion, 15. Giving Oral Evidence We have often drawn attention to cases in which claims regarding experts’ unreliability were supported, so we feel it is important to highlight counter-examples
4 October News EVANS v R&V ALLGEMEINE VERSICHERUNG AG [2022] EWHC 2436 (QB) Expert evidence, Expert Report, Foreign jurisdiction, 11. Report Writing, 15. Giving Oral Evidence A claimant who had been injuired in a road traffic accident in Germany issued proceedings in England and the matter proceeded to trial. The defendant's expert witness's report had been translated from German and had been certified as correct.
18 August News Expert criticised for tending to be an advocate and concerns about their objectivity or reliability also noted Expert evidence, Expert's behaviour, Independence, Objectivity, 06. Rules and Regulations, 15. Giving Oral Evidence An expert on Lebanese Banking Law has been criticised for his tendency to advocate , and evidence the expert had given in another case led to judge being concerned about the expert's reliability due to lack of atttention to detail.
10 August News Experts in the Family Justice System Symposium: The Long and Winding Road. 12 October 2022 Expert evidence, Symposium, Family Law The Family Justice Council Experts Sub-Committee invites the judiciary, legal, medical and allied professions to register your interest in: Experts in the Family Justice System Symposium: The Long and Winding Road.