• The contact does not provide you with a full description of the duties and responsibilities of an expert witness and does not ask you to review carefully the relevant procedural rules, practice directions and guidance. • The contact suggests that their agency will undertake some of the functions which should be performed by the expert witness themselves. For example, they indicate that they will provide a draft report for you to review, amend and sign. Or they suggest that the expert will be “ screening ” or “ only assessing ” and the report writing in its entirety will be carried out by others. Doing this could have significant ramifications. • The contact does not make clear that acting as an expert witness has the potential to be a significant commitment over a lengthy period and, in addition to writing a report, could include:
Attending meetings with the instructing party,
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Answering Part 35 questions,
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Attending discussions with the opposing expert,
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Writing joint reports,
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Attending court, and
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Providing oral evidence in court.
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• The contact does not provide you with a link to their website or other publicly available details about their organisation. • The contact does not offer, either voluntarily or at your request, to put you in touch with other expert witnesses who work for them to discuss the role and their experiences working with the organisation. • The contact suggests that their organisation will offer training in expert witness work, and does not recommend that this is undertaken through an independent specialist organisation such as the EWI. • You are told that assessments can be carried out swiftly and briefly, and a high number of claimants can be assessed in one day. • Screening questionnaires are heavily relied upon rather than an expectation being that the expert fully assess and form an opinion utilising multiple sources in addition to the interview.
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