The same but different? Mark Solon discusses the diverse nature of the expert witness world
In his first speech after being appointed justice secretary and lord chancellor, Michael Gove the former newspaper columnist for The Times , decried the fact that there are “two nations in our justice system at present”.
“On the one hand, the wealthy, international class who can choose to settle cases in London with the gold standard of British justice. And then everyone else, who has to put up with a creaking, outdated system to see justice done in their own lives,” he said. And that division seems to apply equally to the work done by expert witnesses. Those instructed on ever decreasing legal aid rates, who often have to comply with increasing procedural and regulatory burdens, are being squeezed; those in the personal injury field are dogged by costs budgeting and tight deadlines; while those involved in big money commercial and other privately-funded cases, where money is often no object, are flourishing.
Two practitioners at polar opposite end of the spectrum provide an insight into their very different worlds.
Expert witness
Kevin
