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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

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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