Professionals from many disciplines, businesses and industries are regularly called upon to prepare reports or to give evidence in courts, arbitrations and other hearings. Whether described as ‘expert’, ‘skilled’, or ‘specialist’ witnesses, their contribution is often crucial to the outcome of the case.
Experts can be publicly embarrassed if they are ill-prepared, or do not understand their duties to the court. Many high-profile miscarriages of justice have arisen because of the conduct of such witnesses, who have given biased evidence in favour of one party, or simply failed to understand the courts’ requirements.
Mark Tottenham, an experienced barrister and mediator, and award-winning writer on legal issues, has written this short and authoritative guide to the responsibilities of professional witnesses. Drawing on authorities throughout the English-speaking world, he outlines: the duties of an expert witness; the requirements of a written court report; how to prepare to give evidence in court; how to maintain a professional detachment from the client and instructing legal team; the involvement of expert witnesses in preparing pleadings and ‘Scott schedules’; and the role of expert witnesses in other forums such as mediations, inquests and public inquiries.
Mark Tottenham is a barrister and mediator. He was the lead author of A Guide to Expert Witness Evidence (Bloomsbury Professional 2019), the leading Irish legal textbook on expert evidence, the Dublin Solicitors’ Bar Association’s Practical Law Book of the Year award, 2020.
He was the founding editor of Decisis.ie, an online publisher of law reports, and Decisis Law Ireland (DLI), a monthly law–reporting journal. He has written for The Irish Times, Irish Independent,Laffoy’s Irish Conveyancing Precedents, Conveyancing and Property Law Journal, Medico-legal Journal of Ireland, and is the editor of the Irish Tax Reports. He has lectured at the Kings Inns, the Law Society of Ireland, and the school of architecture at the Dublin Institute of Technology (now Technical University, Dublin).
He is a graduate of history from Trinity College Dublin. He formerly worked as a genealogist, and for Hodder Headline publishers in London.
Types of Expert and Professional Witness
The Duties of Expert and Professional Witnesses
Enforcement of Experts’ Duties
Accepting Instructions
Factual Investigations
Conducting Professional Research
Reaching a Conclusion
Preparing and Writing an Expert Report
Communication and Consultation Between the Experts and the Instructing Legal Team
Meetings With Other Experts
Pleadings, Affidavits and ‘Scott Schedules’
Oral Evidence at Hearing
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Other Hearings or Inquiries
“All experts whether new to the industry or with over 40 years experience should consider this book essential. … It is a book that will educate and be used as a reference point for many years.” The Expert Witness Journal
“… a welcome and excellent guide to the duties and responsibilities of an expert witness…. I heartily recommend this well written and common-sense book to all professional experts.” Edward Flahavan President of the Association of Consulting Engineers
