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18 September 2015 / Dr Chris Pamplin
Issue: 7668 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness , Profession
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Expert analysis

Dr Chris Pamplin analyses the results of a major survey of the expert witness marketplace

As the largest multidisciplinary expert witness community in the UK, the experienced individuals listed in the UK Register of Expert Witnesses represent an unrivalled source of information on matters of importance to experts and those who instruct them. Since 1995, the Register has regularly conducted surveys of its expert witnesses. The following analysis is based on the latest survey conducted over the summer.

The experts

Of the 408 experts who responded by the end of August 2015, 198 were medical practitioners. Of the remaining 210 experts, 51 were engineers, 51 were in professions ancillary to medicine, 27 were accountants or bankers, 30 had scientific, veterinary or agricultural qualifications, 20 were surveyors or valuers and 23 were architects or building experts. The small “others” category totalled nine experts.

Work status & workload

Of the respondents, 43% undertake expert witness work full-time, with 42% part-time. Only 15% describe themselves as retired. Between 2003 and 2013 this split was fairly stable, with the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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