One-third of expert witnesses have considered giving up, while two-thirds would stop doing legal aid work if expert witness fees were reduced, Bond Solon’s annual survey has found.
Complaints included increased administration, more complex work, more pressure, less pay, shorter deadlines and not being appreciated by solicitors. Writing in NLJ this week, Bond Solon founder Mark Solon says the risk of experts being sued for their work has risen since the 2011 case of Jones v Kaney [2011] UKSC 13, while the increase in litigants in person can only add to their woes.
Elsewhere, in this week’s NLJ expert witness supplement, forensic accountant George Sim, consultant at Sim Kapila, explains the factors to be taken into consideration when calculating loss of profits; and chartered surveyor Martin Burns outlines the duties of the expert witness.