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.
I’ve been a town planning consultant for over 40 years.
Basically, I act like a troubleshooter. Day to day, I might be assisting clients who are trying to secure planning permission, representing local resident groups, or working with local authorities on planning appeals. During my career, I've seen a lot of changes and developed a lot of knowledge.
My very first job led me to Expert Witness work.
I did a town planning degree at Manchester University. When I graduated, I got a job in the private sector rather than for a local authority, which was quite unheard of at the time (the early 1980s).
My company was closely linked to a barrister’s chambers in Manchester. So, from day one, I was going in and meeting barristers. In those days, I was assisting more senior member of staff writing reports to give evidence.
I learned the Expert Witness trade by watching other professionals go through the process and got an understanding of how it all works. I felt that I could do the same after I'd developed my knowledge and experience.
My job is never boring.
I like that my job is not always desk based. A large part of it involves going out, viewing sites and drawing conclusions in terms of what I'm seeing. Every site and location are different and there are no two cases that are alike.
Being cross examined can be daunting.
When I was younger and less experienced, I found it quite scary. Barristers would often try to undermine me and affect my confidence. Now, I've got the confidence to not allow anybody to treat me in that way.
As an Expert Witness, it’s so important to have confidence in your opinion.
A lot of my evidence is usually down to my judgement. Whether it's an interpretation of the law, a policy, or whether or not I think a scheme is acceptable or not. That means it can be difficult for an advocate to challenge me, because my opinion is down to the enormous amount of experience that I've had. As far as I'm concerned, nobody can take that away from me.
There are different procedures involved in civil court matters compared to public inquiries and hearings.
Whatever the context, I just try to make sure that I'm clear on what's required of me. I'm still giving the same views and dealing with things in the same way: I just need to ensure that I tick all the right boxes.
Although a public inquiry is not the same as a trial, it can have some serious consequences. I've also been involved in cases where, if a client is unsuccessful, they could end up having a criminal conviction.
Over the years, I've developed several areas of expertise.
I'm the country's leading authority on outdoor advertisements. It's like a Cinderella aspect of the planning system: unless they’re involved on a regular basis, fellow professionals wouldn't have an idea of the fact that the regime is quite different from the normal planning permission regime.
I'm actually involved in a case about outdoor advertisements which has ended up in the High Court. I've been helping to draft the witness statements that need to be submitted, which I’ve really enjoyed.
Another of my specialisms is enforcement, where there's potentially been a breach of planning control. I really enjoy giving evidence in enforcement cases, because I truly am the expert in the room. It's always a nice situation when you start being cross examined, and realise that you know more about a subject than the barrister!
A once in a lifetime experience…
…was being invited to the Old Bailey to have lunch with some judges and hear about their experiences. I got to listen to several cases and was invited to go to the judges’ room and get a brief summary of what the issues were.
I enjoy Expert Witness work because it’s challenging and important.
A lot of the barristers I've been cross examined by are now very familiar to me. When you get to grips with their style it can make for an interesting and enjoyable exchange of discussion. That's what keeps me going: the challenge of it all — and also the importance of it.
My advice for anyone considering Expert Witness work…
If you get the opportunity, give it a go. Don’t be put off if you have experiences early on that you feel don’t go well. Give yourself some time to see if you can develop your own approach.