Often a foreign lawyer will want to instruct an English or Welsh expert witness to give evidence in matters in their jurisdiction. The lawyer will ask a lawyer in England and Wales to act as agent or ask their office in England and Wales to find and instruct an expert. Several questions arise from such a request—perhaps the most important element being what jurisdiction applies to the matter in question.
The expert may well be familiar with their own court system, but not with that of the foreign jurisdiction. An expert witness needs two skillsets: first, as a professional in their specialist area with the relevant knowledge, experience, and qualifications appropriate to the issues in dispute; and second, the skills to be an expert witness in the foreign jurisdiction. This second skillset requires them to know the appropriate methodology with which to conduct an investigation in a court-compliant way, and know how to construct a court-compliant report, how to give evidence appropriately in the foreign court,
