Expert Witness Questionnaire 2007


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Expert Witness Questionnaire 2007

You will find below the expert witness questionnaire for 2007. I do hope that you will be able to find a quiet 10 minutes in which to complete the questionnaire so that the statistics we publish are as representative as possible. Last time around, one quarter of experts listed in the Register responded – with your help we should be able to beat that figure this year!

1) About you
We will treat all information you provide on this questionnaire in the strictest confidence and nothing we publish will allow your individual responses to be identified. You may submit this information anonymously if you wish, but if you are willing to identify yourself please enter your name or JSP reference if you have one.


Name: JSP reference: JSP/U


1.1	Please tell us which of these general sectors you belong to and your specific area of expertise.
	Medicine Paramedicine (e.g. nursing) Engineering Accountancy & Banking	Science & Agriculture Surveying & Valuation Architecture & Building Other


1.2	What is your area of expertise?:


1.3	In which county do you live?:


1.4	To which of these organisations do you belong?	Academy of Experts Society of Expert Witnesses Expert Witness Institute Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners


1.5	Are you one of several expert witnesses working within a group?	Yes No N/A
	If 'Yes', please tell us the nature of your group and how many experts it contains:


1.6	If you hold a position within a professional body, please tell us which body and the post you hold.

2) About your expert witness work

2.1	Do you work full-time, part-time or are you retired?	Full-time Part-time Retired N/A

2.2	What percentage of your workload is expert witness work?	%


2.3	How many years' experience do you have of expert witness work?	years


2.4	Do you see your expert witness work as an expanding part of your workload?	Yes No N/A


During the past 12 months


2.5	How many reports of an advisory nature have you prepared?


2.6	How many times have you been instructed to prepare a full report for use in court?


2.7	How many times have you accepted instructions as a single joint expert?


2.8	How many times have you appeared as an expert witness in court?


2.9	In comparison with 2 years ago, would you say your number of instructions has:	Increased? Decreased? Stayed the same? N/A

3) About your terms of engagement

3.1	Prior to accepting instructions, do you stipulate your terms and conditions for so doing?	Yes No N/A


3.2	When accepting instructions, do you use a standard written form of contract?	Yes No N/A


3.3a	Do your terms or contract state your fees and expenses are to be paid within a fixed period of submitting your invoice?	Yes No N/A


3.3b	If yes, is payment due within:	30 days? 60 days? Other (please specify)


3.4	Are more solicitors asking you to accept deferred payment of your fees than was the case 2 years ago?	Yes No N/A

4) About your fees

4.1	What is your charging rate for reports?	£	per hour per report


4.2	On average, how many hours do you spend on a report?	hours


4.3	What is your charging rate for court appearances?	£	half day full day


4.4	What is your annual income bracket from expert witness work?	<£10,000 £10,000 to £20,000 £20,000 to £50,000 >£50,000 N/A


4.5	How many firms of solicitors give you regular instructions?	firms


4.6	What percentage of your normal fee do you charge if notified of a court cancellation within:	28 days:	%
		14 days:	%
		7 days:	%
		1 day:	%

5) About payment of fees

5.1	In what percentage of cases have you found that solicitors pay your fees and expenses on time?	%


5.2	On average, how many weeks does it take solicitors to pay from your invoice date?	weeks


5.3	On how many occasions, in the last 5 years, have you had to take legal action against solicitors to recover your fees and expenses?	times


5.4a	In the last 5 years, how many invoices for expert witness work have you written off?	invoices
5.4b	How many of these were in dispute?	disputed


5.5	If you use any form of fee factoring, please tell us who you use.


5.6	If you use a third party for invoice chasing, please tell us who you use.


5.7	In comparison with 2 years ago, would you say your invoices are being settled:	More promptly? Less promptly? At about the same speed? N/A