Expert Witness Institute

Expert Witness Institute The Expert Witness Institute (EWI) was launched in November 1996 to service and support experts.

It acts as a voice for the expert witness community, supporting experts from all professional disciplines and lawyers who use the services of experts. The Institute functions to encourage, train and educate experts and to improve and maintain their standards and status. The EWI actively works with a wide range of professional bodies to achieve this. The EWI is independent of outside commercial int

erests and is democratic, transparent and fully accountable to its members. It is a non-profit making company limited by guarantee The objective of the EWI is the support of the proper administration of justice and the early resolution of disputes through fair and unbiased expert evidence. To achieve this objective, the EWI:

Acts as a voice for expert witnesses, especially in communicating with the media. Provides support to experts of all professional disciplines
Encourages lawyers to make use of experts wherever specialised knowledge is required. Engages in the training of experts to maintain and enhance standards and their status. Works actively with other allied professional bodies and associations. Makes representations to Government and to professional bodies and associations

17/06/2026

Final Call: Booking closes soon for the EWI Annual Conference 2026! 🚨⏳

This Friday (19th June), the expert witness community gathers online for one of our key events of the year. If you haven’t secured your virtual seat yet, this is your absolute last chance to join us.

With courts demanding higher standards of compliance, independence, and technical mastery, can you afford to miss these critical updates?

🌟 Featured Highlights:

🎤 Opening Keynote: Sir Geoffrey Vos (Master of the Rolls) addressing the landmark topic: "The Use of AI in the Preparation of Experts Reports."

🛡️ Courtroom Compliance: The "Lessons from the Courts" panel chaired by Richard Edwards and featuring Mrs Justice Joanna Smith, Mr Justice Fancourt, and Samuel Townend KC.

🍯 Closing Keynote: Dr. Kay Linnell OBE on "The Beartraps and the Honeypots"—spotlighting what to avoid and how to get it right.

🧠 Practical Toolkits: Deep dives into managing pressure from instructing parties, communicating complex evidence, and legal updates.

💻 Event Details:

📅 Date: This Friday, 19th June 2026

⏰ Time: 9:15 am – 4:00 pm BST

📍 Format: Online via Zoom (no travel required!)

Future-proof your practice, protect your professional integrity, and learn directly from the judges who rely on your evidence.

👇 Secure your last-minute ticket now:
https://www.ewi.org.uk/Training-and-Events/Event-Details/eventDateId/290

When do redactions cross the line from protecting privacy to obstructing justice? ⚖️🔍In high-value personal injury and c...
10/06/2026

When do redactions cross the line from protecting privacy to obstructing justice? ⚖️🔍

In high-value personal injury and clinical negligence claims, experts must untangle complex causation profiles. But what happens when the vital medical, safeguarding, or social services records you need are heavily redacted?

A recent personal injury case offers a masterclass in how UK courts balance third-party confidentiality under GDPR with the necessity of fair litigation.

With the Claimant seeking multi-million-pound damages, the Defendants argued that external family stressors, rather than the accident, were the true cause of her psychological decline. This sparked a major battle over redacted documents, featuring a dramatic courtroom twist: a heavily redacted Child Safeguarding letter assumed to be about the claimant was revealed mid-hearing to actually pertain to her sister.

Here is what experts and litigators need to know:

💡 Key Takeaways for the Expert Community

🛡️ Necessity vs. Desirability: Even if a wider family background is highly desirable for your report, the court applies a strict threshold for third-party records (like siblings). It must be strictly necessary to fairly dispose of the claim.

🚩 Flag Obstructive Redactions: You do not have to accept blanket-blacked-out documents. The court ruled that while third-party names should be protected, redactions must not prevent experts from identifying key factual events. If a redaction stops you from doing your job, point it out.

🧠 External Stressors Matter for Causation: Understanding the timeline of external family stressors (such as a parent's immigration status) is vital for neurologists and psychiatrists to provide robust, court-compliant opinions on causation.

📋 Disclosure is a Process: If initial, heavily redacted documents impede your assessment, the courts can, and will, order enhanced or staged disclosure.

The Golden Takeaway:
To deliver a credible, compliant opinion, you must have access to the factual context of external stressors. Never hesitate to raise concerns if excessive redactions are keeping you in the dark.

👇 Have you ever had to write a causation report based on heavily redacted files? How did you handle it? Let us know in the comments.

Are you one of the 33,000? ⚖️🔍Initial research suggests there are roughly 9,000 regular and 24,000 occasional Expert Wit...
09/06/2026

Are you one of the 33,000? ⚖️🔍

Initial research suggests there are roughly 9,000 regular and 24,000 occasional Expert Witnesses working across the UK. Yet, a clear profile of this vital workforce simply does not exist.

We want to change that—and we need your help.

The Expert Witness Institute is launching a major research project to map the expert witness landscape in the UK. Whether you handle dozens of cases a year or just one or two, your voice is essential.

Why take 5–10 minutes to fill out our anonymous survey?
🏛️ Better Advocacy: Your data helps us lobby the government and the judiciary on policies that affect your practice.
🛠️ Targeted Support: It allows us to build training and services that directly address your needs.
💰 Anonymity Guaranteed: All data is held securely (on UK-based AWS servers) and is completely anonymised. No individual can be identified.

Plus, as a thank-you for your time, you'll be entered into a draw to win £200 in vouchers of your choice! 🎟️

👇 Have your say and help us shape the future of our profession:
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=PvN0elSYa0GgGCMWO5CYBJaTdyFa9o9Am-mOYgTshPFUQ0hSRUw4OElVQTY5VjdFMjkzU1YwTk5FSC4u&route=shorturl

08/06/2026

Under two weeks to go! ⏳ Secure your seat for the EWI Annual Conference 2026

With the Expert Witness Institute Online Annual Conference taking place on Friday, 19th June, the countdown is officially on.

As expert witnesses face escalating scrutiny, keeping your practice compliant, technologically advanced, and commercially resilient is more vital than ever.

We are thrilled to highlight our opening keynote speaker, Sir Geoffrey Vos (Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice), who will be addressing one of the most critical topics facing modern practitioners:

🎤 "The Use of AI in the Preparation of Experts Reports"

Sir Geoffrey's keynote will provide an authoritative, definitive look at how the judiciary views Artificial Intelligence, where the boundaries of "proper use" lie, and what you must declare in your reports to protect your independence.

4 behaviours that build unassailable expert credibility in court. 🛡️When giving oral evidence, under the pressure of cro...
03/06/2026

4 behaviours that build unassailable expert credibility in court. 🛡️

When giving oral evidence, under the pressure of cross-examination, it can be easy to fall into defensive habits.

But as HHJ Robinson’s recent judgment in Dakin v South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust shows, the courts are deeply impressed by measured, calm, and objective testimony.

Here is a quick "best practice" blueprint for your next hearing, drawn directly from the judge's praise of the experts in this case:

1️⃣ Don't Over-Embellish: Give clear, context-rich answers, but resist the urge to add unnecessary layers to "help" your instructing party's case.
2️⃣ Draw Clear Boundaries: Be entirely transparent about the limits of your recollection. Clearly distinguish between what is a documented fact and what is your professional interpretation of that fact.
3️⃣ Reflect, Don't React: Take a moment to genuinely consider the cross-examiner's questions. A witness who "reflects upon their answers" demonstrates active impartiality.
4️⃣ Neutrality is Your Shield: When counsel accuses you of advocacy, a balanced, measured tone is your best defense. If your evidence remains strictly aligned with the court documents, the judge will see through standard litigation tactics.

Objectivity is the ultimate currency of the court.

👇 How do you prepare yourself to maintain composure under pressure? Let us know in the comments, and read the full case review here: https://www.ewi.org.uk/News/Case-Updates/praise-for-experts-gives-insight-into-what-makes-oral-evidence-credible

Regulatory Tribunals: 4 expert "red flags" to avoid. 🚩Providing expert evidence in professional disciplinary hearings re...
02/06/2026

Regulatory Tribunals: 4 expert "red flags" to avoid. 🚩

Providing expert evidence in professional disciplinary hearings requires strict adherence to legal frameworks.

In the recent disciplinary case of GDC v Dr. Michael Mew, the Committee preferred the regulator's experts, pointing to several critical compliance failures by the defence's expert witnesses.

Here is what went wrong, and how to avoid these pitfalls in your own practice:

1️⃣ The Character Referee Conflict: Do not act as an independent expert if you have already submitted character evidence for the registrant. If you do, it must be prominently disclosed in your report.
2️⃣ Missing Declarations: Always include the standard expert declaration. Failing to do so signals a lack of familiarity with professional regulatory rules.
3️⃣ Unfounded Assertions: Be extremely careful when making factual claims during oral evidence. One prosecution expert had to apologise and withdraw assertions regarding a publication, a move that, while handled professionally, can damage credibility.
4️⃣ Jurisdictional Unfamiliarity: Understanding The Ikarian Re**er principles is not just for civil courts. It applies equally to UK regulatory systems.

Maintaining an unassailable boundary of independence is your best defence against having your evidence discounted.

Read the full legal breakdown: https://www.ewi.org.uk/News/ArticleID/1072/ArtMID/1215/preview/true

The EWI website is undergoing some maintenance today (2/06/26). There may be some periods of downtime but these will be ...
02/06/2026

The EWI website is undergoing some maintenance today (2/06/26). There may be some periods of downtime but these will be kept to a minimum. Thank you for you patience and if you do need any assistance please contact the team [email protected]

Have you secured your place for the 2026 AGM? 🗳️A quick reminder that the Expert Witness Institute Annual General Meetin...
01/06/2026

Have you secured your place for the 2026 AGM? 🗳️

A quick reminder that the Expert Witness Institute Annual General Meeting is taking place this week on Thursday, 4th June, from 5:00 pm to 5:45 pm BST.

The AGM is a vital opportunity for our member community to hear directly from the Board on the Institute's progress over the last year, discuss our strategic plans for the future, and exercise your voting rights.

The meeting will be hosted online via Zoom, making it easy to join us from wherever you are practicing.

Event Details:
📅 Date: Thursday, 4th June 2026
⏰ Time: 5:00 pm – 5:45 pm BST
📍 Format: Online via Zoom (Members Only)

Don't miss the chance to have your say and connect with the EWI leadership team.

👇 EWI Members can register to attend and secure their Zoom link here:
https://www.ewi.org.uk/Training-and-Events/Event-Details/eventDateId/276

A model example of how experts can rise above the fray. 🎸⚖️In high stakes, hard fought litigation, like the recent dispu...
29/05/2026

A model example of how experts can rise above the fray. 🎸⚖️

In high stakes, hard fought litigation, like the recent dispute over 40 studio recordings by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, tempers can run incredibly high. Yet, the expert witnesses in this case became the highlight of the judgment.

Despite aggressive attempts by opposing counsel to discredit the claimant's expert (Mr. C), accusing him of acting as an advocate and "making speeches," the High Court judge rejected the criticisms entirely.

Instead, the judge took the opportunity to commend both New York law experts (Mr. C and Professor K) for their exemplary conduct.

What made them stand out to the Court?
🔹 Thorough Research: Their detailed reports read exceptionally well and were clearly the product of intense preparation.
🔹 Clear Communication: In oral evidence, they used helpful, practical analogies (like a "spectrum") to explain complex legal principles simply.
🔹 Court-First Mindset: Both remained utterly focused on their primary duty: helping the judge solve the problem, rather than winning the argument.

The case is a beautiful reminder that in the heat of litigation, an expert's best defence against professional attacks is simply the undeniable quality of their work.

👇 Read our full breakdown of the case and the lessons on handling aggressive courtroom criticism:
https://www.ewi.org.uk/News/ArticleID/1075/ArtMID/1215/preview/true

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