Highlights from the EWI Technology and Practice Survey 2026
A survey by the Expert Witness Institute, supported by Fortythree Tech
At the end of January the Expert Witness Institute sent a survey to its membership asking about something that rarely gets discussed: the admin. Not the expert work itself but everything around it — the scheduling, the invoicing, the filing, the chasing. The EWI co-designed and distributed the survey with support from Fortythree Tech who are developing practice management software for expert witnesses following a conversation about the needs of one of EWI’s members. We were keen to understand the wider issues for members and they want to ensure the research for the product there are developing is grounded in real data rather than assumptions.
Without the EWI’s reach and the trust its members place in the Institute, a survey of this depth would not have been possible. 184 experts responded, ranging from those in their first year of practice to veterans with over fifteen years’ experience, handling anywhere from a handful of cases to over a hundred, across dozens of specialisms. What they told us was sometimes expected, sometimes surprising and occasionally counterintuitive.
The headline finding was not a surprise: invoice chasing is the number one problem. What was surprising was who suffers most. Sixty-four per cent of experts with a dedicated PA chase invoices regularly or constantly, compared with thirty-three per cent of solo operators. Having admin support does not solve the problem — it makes it visible. At caseloads of 100+ seventy-two per cent rank it as their single biggest issue.
The survey also revealed a clear solo ceiling. Nearly half of respondents manage their practice entirely alone, but this drops sharply with caseload. Below fifty active cases, half of experts are solo. Above fifty, only twenty-three per cent manage without support. Only eight solo operators in the entire sample handle fifty or more cases. The data suggests that somewhere around fifty cases, the admin overhead outstrips what one person can handle alongside the actual expert work. For anyone building a practice, that transition point is closer than most people think. Especially when it is done alongside a day job.
When asked about tools, the picture was striking. Ninety-two per cent use Word. Eighty-eight per cent use email. Just over half use Excel. A handful have gone so far as to build their own bespoke practice management systems. Over a quarter of experts need twenty minutes or more to get back up to speed when a solicitor revives a dormant case — a telling sign of how fragmented current systems are.
On AI, views were more nuanced than expected. Most experts are open to technology that helps them navigate and organise information. They are resistant to anything that touches their professional judgement. As one respondent put it, tools that help find the needle in the haystack are welcome. Tools that claim to be the needle are not.
The next phase of the research is now under way — in-depth interviews with expert witnesses and PAs — followed by focus groups and beta testing later this year. Whether you are a solo practitioner or a veteran with a dedicated PA, your perspective can help shape what comes next.
For a more in-depth dive into the results from the survey, keep an eye out for our next Expert Matters e-magazine where we will publish further results.
If you would like to be involved at any stage, we would love to hear from you.
Contact the EWI team, or you can reach Fortythree Tech directly at hello@fortythree.tech
Take a look at the Fortythree Tech website here: Visit Website