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Picking the firm favourite

25 October 2007 / Ben Holland
Issue: 7294 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness
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Selecting the right expert can be crucial in court.
Here, Ben Holland increases the odds on success

In many disputes, experts play a vital part in helping the client win its case. The role an expert plays ranges from that of a consultant working in the background behind the legal and commercial team, to preparing reports as evidence at trial and testifying before the court or arbitrator. Experts will be relied on by City lawyers to grapple with the underlying technical issues, to reduce complex technical information into a form that can be understood by others, to co-ordinate their work with lawyers, witnesses and (often) other experts, and to defend their expert opinion clearly and robustly to the court or arbitrator. Solicitors know that cases frequently turn on the performance of experts. For this reason the selection of appropriate experts is regarded as an important task.

This article sets out the qualities and experience that City firms commonly look for when selecting experts in significant disputes, as well as the sources of information that

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