Mark Solon takes us through the results of the most recent Annual Expert Witness Survey to discover how the profession is still occasionally falling foul of inappropriate or dishonest witnesses
During September 2019 The Times and Bond Solon collaborated on their Annual Expert Witness Survey. The 2019 research was conducted online with 569 experts completing the survey – making it one of the largest expert witness surveys in the UK. Several cases last year exposed some expert witnesses as not understanding the basic requirements of the role, for instance in May a multi-million-pound fraud trial collapsed when the witness was found not to be properly qualified. In light of this, the survey asked respondents if judges should have the power to permanently disqualify such experts. Nearly 60 per cent agreed that judges should be able to. They clearly want other expert witnesses to understand their role and believe those who don...
A lawyer completely changed my report, put in extra paragraphs and deleted great chunks in order to make my opinion suit his client – survey respondent
