22 July News Referral of Release Decisions Consultation: proposed amendments to CPR Part 77 and Practice Direction 77 CPR, Civil Procedure Rules, Parole Referral Power The Civil Procedure Rule Committee ('Committee') is consulting on proposed amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules Part 77 and the Practice Direction 77 to support the implementation of the new power of the Secretary of State for Justice to direct the Parole Board to refer certain top-tier cases to the High Court for a new release decision.
22 July Case Updates Expert evidence and the materiality of a risk Legal test, Consent to treatment, Orthopaedics, 11. Report Writing, 12. Responding to questions Although this is an orthopaedic case and in which given its preliminary nature the expert evidence was not tested, it is helpful for experts in general as well as orthopaedic experts. It sets out the law on consent as established in not only Montgomery but also in McCullough. It touches on orthopaedic experts giving evidence in cases outside their own subspecialty. Butler v Ward [2025] EWHC 877 (KB)
17 July Case Updates Frederick Ayinde, R (on the application of) v The London Borough of Haringey [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin) Artificial Intelligence, AI The barrister for the Claimant was unable to explain to the court's satisfaction why she had cited several non-existent cases in pleadings. The case was referred to the High Court for its consideration which commented on the use of artificial intelligence in court proceedings.
16 July Podcast Podcast Episode 14: Reflections on the EWI Annual Conference 2025 07. Receiving Instructions, 17. Maintaining your professional edge, 05. Alternative Dispute Resolution, EWI Annual Conference, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing, 14. Changing your opinion, 08. Working with Instructing Parties, 13. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements, 15. Giving Oral Evidence In the 14th episode of the Expert Matters Podcast, Simon and EWI's Marketing and Events Manger, Heather George, reflect on their highlights from EWI's 2025 Annual Conference which was held on 20 June. The Conference featured a great line-up of panels and speakers, with keynote speeches from Lady Rose, Justice of the Supreme Court, and Lord Justice Birrs, the Deputy Head of Civil Justice. A wide range of lawyers, judges and expert witnesses joined the panel sessions, and EWI member Dr Richard Marshall provided an insightful session on AI and the Expert Witness. You can also check out our 'What's going on at EWI' and 'Newsreel' segments to keep up-to-date on the latest developments in the world of expert witnesses and expert evidence.
16 July News Online Procedure Rule Committee Consultation: Inclusion framework and pre-action model 06. Rules and Regulations The Online Procedure Rule Committee ('OPRC') is holding a consultation on its draft inclusion framework and pre-action model. Responses to the consultation are due by 5pm on Friday 19 September 202
15 July Case Updates ADHD, ASD and disability Autistic spectrum disorder, Psychology, Psychiatry, Equality Act 2010 This case is a useful reminder about the meaning of disability in the Equality Act and the matters that expert evidence must address. Stedman v Haven Leisure Ltd (DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION) [2025] EAT 82)
14 July Day in the life A Day in the Life of a Town Planning Expert Witness Town Planning, 15. Giving Oral Evidence Susan Jones, founder of SJ Consultancy, has been a town planning consultant for over 40 years. As an Expert Witness, she provides evidence at public inquiries, hearings and in court. Here, she tells us about her career; explains why she enjoys being an Expert Witness; and shares her advice for other Experts.
10 July Case Updates Most unsatisfactory expert paediatric evidence 16. Criticism and Complaints, 17. Maintaining your professional edge, 11. Report Writing, 15. Giving Oral Evidence For paediatricians this is an example of how not to conduct an expert paediatric assessment and present the results to the court. It also illustrates some basic points applicable to all experts. M v F [2025] EWFC 150 (B)
8 July Case Updates Email chains, gross misconduct and the experts who count the cost 16. Criticism and Complaints, 17. Maintaining your professional edge, 11. Report Writing, 13. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements 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).
7 July News AI and the Expert Witness Artificial Intelligence, AI 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.