Everyone’s an expert!

How often have you heard someone say, ‘Oh, we got an expert in and he said...’? Rod Appleyard hears it all the time, but when it comes to the courtroom, the word ‘expert’ becomes more clearly defined. Here Rod offers some step-by-step advice on how to make the distinction between someone who is an expert, and someone who just says he is one.

Do they know their stuff?

It may sound obvious, but the first step in picking an expert is: does he or she know the subject matter?

A bit of hands-on experience and industry knowledge is all very well, but an expert surely needs more than that.

There are plenty of bar room solicitors about, and there are just as many bar room experts. They know it all – until it goes wrong – and then they have to admit that they know about as much as you do.

Find yourself an expert who is known to be fair, open and who has worked in the dispute arena for a long time. Ask about their previous clients and get references. Good work of this nature always has supporters, even from those who were on the other side, so to speak.

Only an expert who maintains his impartiality is worth his salt, no matter who is client is or how much money they have.

Experts are required by law to abide by certain codes of practice. To the number of us that have trod this path for some time, we refer to it as either the ‘Ikerian Reefer Principle’ or ‘Part 35’. Both in effect say the same thing, i.e. regardless of who is paying the bill – the report must read the same.

Are they members of a recognised professional body? The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institute of Builders, Expert Witness Institute, Academy of Experts all have professional conduct requirements.

However good they are in an emergency, the AA or RAC do not count. Neither do trade bodies as they have conflict of interest issues that will cause problems in court.

Expert witness training

You train your staff, you go on management training courses, solicitors, doctors, teachers and other professionals are trained, so you should expect your expert to be. Check and ask – remember, you are going to pay this person a lot of money for their expertise.

Independence

It is amazing how many times this point crops up. Let’s imagine you have gone through all the steps of going to court with your report in place.

You are the defendant because you have done a rubbish job. Who says so? Well, the expert on the other side, and he should know – he is an expert. But you have an expert that says ‘No it’s not rubbish, it’s a good job and worth every penny!’

Good work of this nature always has supporters, even from those who were on the other side, so to speak.

In court, their expert is well known, respected and has plenty of credibility. He has been an expert for many years and works for himself.

Your expert gets up and the first question asked is, ‘Who does he work for?’ The answer comes back ‘Well, I used to work for my client, but now I work for his brother’s company’. Things will not go well from here on in.

Is your expert on a retainer for another company? Do they have any other cases in hand that will conflict with an honest, unbiased opinion? Do they work for your competitors?

Conflicts of interest come in many different guises but they are easily spotted by impartial observers.

Are they qualified?

I don’t think this needs any expansion: doing a job in the industry for 20 years is not enough by a long way. The question is not only one of academic qualifications – although they are often a good indicator – but have they had papers published on their area of expertise? Have they carried out research that has significantly benefited the industry? PR blurb does not count.

Can they write a fully court compliant report? Lets face it, there are many people out there who can pump out half a dozen A4 pages as a report, but quite frankly, they are worthless. Admittedly, pound per page it works out quite cheap – but you cannot really do anything with the report except hang it on a nail in the loo.

The contract

So you have gone through all the steps and arrived at your chosen expert, now is the time to put what you require from your expert, into writing. You should get a reply telling you what he can do, the approximate time scale and how much it will cost (fee scale).

Good experts never give fixed prices or work on a no-win-no-fee basis. Work is usually charged at an hourly rate.

You will also be asked to sign a form of contract as part of the instruction, this protects all parties and lays out a set of rules that the expert will work under.

Yes, I know, I hear what you are saying, ‘No mention of cost!’ Well, I’ll tell you in plain English - you get what you pay for.

My colleagues and I, shell out a considerable amount of money each year on our education, training and, on keeping ourselves up-to-date with the latest information from the market. All this is a worthwhile expense not only for our clients, but also for our reputations.

I hope you will never need the use of an expert, but if the need arises use this checklist, it pays in the long run.