Everyone's An Expert: A Guide For Solicitors

It may sound obvious, but the first step in picking an expert is: does he or she know the subject matter? It’s one thing to find an expert witness but what do you really know about him/ her?

A bit of hands on experience and industry knowledge is all very well but an expert surely needs more than that and yes they do. Much, much more.

There are plenty of bar-room solicitors about and there are just as many bar-room experts. They know it all, That is until it goes wrong, they then admit that they know about as much as you do.

Find yourself an expert that is known to be fair, open and has worked in the dispute arena for some time in the discipline. Ask about previous clients, if possible get references. Good work of this nature always has supporters even from those that were on the other side so to speak. Only an expert who maintains his impartiality is worth his salt no matter who the client is or how much money they have.

In the U.K experts are required by law to abide by certain legal requirements and codes of practice. The principal requirement is the Civil Procedure Rules, s35 and its 2009 amendment, better known as ‘CPR’. All legal directives say the same that it does not matter who pays the bill the evidence shall be the same as the experts first duty is to the courts, and shame on anyone who steps outside that criteria, as they will be subject to the wrath of the courts.

Next look to see if they are members and governed by, a professional body The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or the Chartered Institute of Building are two that spring to mind. Then to a lesser extent the Expert Witness Institute or Academy of Experts. All have professional conduct requirements. Unfortunately, however good they are in an emergency the AA or RAC does not count, neither do trade bodies as they have a conflict of interest that will cause problems in court.

Now look at training and academic qualifications, all professionals are trained, so should your expert be. Remember you are going to pay this person a lot of money for their expertise. Academic qualifications mean more that just having 20 years in the trade they indicate that your expert is capable and does stay on top of the discipline. They are not worth a jot if they cannot produce a clear concise, court compliant report that can be read by a judge.

And last but not least your expert will ask you to sign their terms and conditions, all the experts that I know that are any good have these and will not move a muscle on an instruction until they have these signed, also do not be surprised if they ask for a deposit up front, this is getting more and more common.

No mention of cost I hear you say, well no more is it applicable than with appointing an expert, you get what you pay for, good experts never give fixed costs as it restricts their report and that is what you are paying for their expertise and the report.

R. Appleyard
Chartered Building Surveyor MSc, BSc (Hons), MRICS, MCIArb, MCIOB, BINDT, MEWI
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