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18 February 2020 / Mark Solon
Issue: 7875 / Categories: Features , Profession , Expert Witness
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Under pressure? The pros & cons of being an expert

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Mark Solon reports on the challenges & priorities facing expert witnesses in & out of the courtroom
  • An analysis of the findings of The Times and Bond Solon Annual Expert Witness Survey.

In May 2019, a multi-million-pound fraud trial collapsed when the witness Andrew Ager was found not to be properly qualified to give expert evidence. The experts polled in our annual expert witness survey were asked if instructing solicitors should be liable for costs when they fail to exercise due diligence in the selection and instruction of an expert witness. Around 70% of experts consider the instructing solicitor should be liable for costs if they fail to exercise due diligence in the selection and instruction of an expert witness. Some 25% of experts reported that they had experienced pressure from solicitors on their impartiality. Solicitors need to be careful in the way they treat experts as well as in the way they find them in the first place. Costs can be considerable, and solicitors

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Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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