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25 October 2007 / Ben Holland
Issue: 7294 / Categories: Features , Expert Witness
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Picking the firm favourite

Selecting the right expert can be crucial in court.
Here, Ben Holland increases the odds on success

In many disputes, experts play a vital part in helping the client win its case. The role an expert plays ranges from that of a consultant working in the background behind the legal and commercial team, to preparing reports as evidence at trial and testifying before the court or arbitrator. Experts will be relied on by City lawyers to grapple with the underlying technical issues, to reduce complex technical information into a form that can be understood by others, to co-ordinate their work with lawyers, witnesses and (often) other experts, and to defend their expert opinion clearly and robustly to the court or arbitrator. Solicitors know that cases frequently turn on the performance of experts. For this reason the selection of appropriate experts is regarded as an important task.

This article sets out the qualities and experience that City firms commonly look for when selecting experts in significant disputes, as well as the sources of information that solicitors commonly turn to in order to help them

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Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

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NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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