In SJ 159/17, former dental expert witness Michael Young gave excellent advice on nurturing relationships between solicitors and expert witnesses through teamwork and communication, in his article ‘Getting the best from your expert’.
However, sometimes, despite everyone’s best intentions, communication breaks down, and this article examines in further detail some potential pitfalls that are best dealt with at the outset of your case. It is easy to assume an expert has considered every issue that concerns us as lawyers, but we have legal experience and expertise, which should enable us to predict the approach of the court and our opponents and so anticipate how matters can go wrong. Of course, the most experienced experts will be well versed in these matters too, but why assume our expert understands what we need from them only to find out too late they do not?
Conflicts of interest
Before instructing an expert, consider wi...
