David Tuffin helps lead the expert witness team for the building consultancy firm Tuffin Ferraby Taylor and authored In my expert opinion: How to pick an expert witness:

Expert witnesses can make or break a case, so it’s vital to pick exactly the right (independent, knowledgeable and impressive) person for the job. With the construction industry seeing a significant rise in litigation and conflict there is going to be an increase in demand for reliable construction expert witnesses called in by lawyers to either help defend or support their clients’ cases.

The biggest challenge facing those selecting an expert witness is how to ensure that the person they call upon is going to help and not hinder the case. Often the evidence the expert provides can make or break a case and therefore choosing the right person is of utmost importance.

At Tuffin Ferraby Taylor we recently undertook research which involved asking some of the UK’s top property and construction litigation lawyers what they felt were the most important traits for an expert witness to have. The results highlighted a number of key areas of importance.