Expert Witness

With no automatic right to call experts in family proceedings, Dr Chris Pamplin considers how courts balance proportionality, fairness & delay

An industry-leading expert witness practice, offering high-quality expert witness reports for the medico-legal sector

Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25

Who are expert witnesses, what do they do & what do they earn? Dr Chris Pamplin reveals the latest stats

In retrospective assessments, it is essential to instruct an expert with the right qualifications for the case at hand, writes Ann Stanyer

The High Court's decision in Parfitt v Jones [2025] EWHC 1552 (Ch) provided a striking reminder of the need to instruct the right expert in retrospective capacity assessments, says Ann Stanyer of Wedlake Bell in NLJ this week

Lady Simler, justice of the Supreme Court, has been appointed president of the Expert Witness Institute (EWI), replacing Lord Hodge, who is retiring

Sam Karim KC & Sophie Hurst on why the Court of Protection has reaffirmed that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted

Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin, editor of the UK Register of Expert Witnesses, examines the thorny issue of expert witness fees in legally aided cases. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) enforces strict caps, only exceeded in ‘exceptional circumstances’. This often leaves local authorities footing the bill when experts charge more than the cap

Overlooked wartime agricultural records can resolve modern land access disputes: Professor John Martin of the Museum of English Rural Life sheds light on this valuable but little used resource in this week's NLJ