Back to GuidesSeries 3
Client Guide to Expert Witness Services
A ten-part plain-English guide for clients navigating a dispute before the DIFC Courts or in DIAC arbitration — what an expert witness is, what duties they owe, how to instruct them, and what to expect at each stage.
10 of 10 parts published
- 1Working with an Expert Witness: What Every DIFC and DIAC Client Should Know FirstIf someone has told you that you need an "expert witness," or you've already appointed one and aren't quite sure what happens next, this series is for you. It's written for people managing a dispute themselves — or who are in t...Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 2Expert Witness, Witness of Fact, or Advocate? Don't Mix Them UpOne of the most common — and most costly — mistakes clients make early in a dispute is confusing three roles that sound similar but are legally very different: the expert witness, the witness of fact, and the advocate. Mixing t...Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 3The Expert's Overriding Duty — and Why It Isn't to YouHere is the single most important thing to understand about your expert witness: their primary duty is to the Court or the arbitral tribunal — not to you, even though you (or the other side) may be the one paying their fee.Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 4Which Rules Apply: DIFC Courts or DIAC Arbitration?The detailed rules governing your expert's conduct and their report depend on which forum is actually dealing with your dispute. Getting this wrong — or simply not asking — is one of the easiest ways to lose time and money earl...Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 5Engaging Your Expert: What Should Be in Writing Before Work BeginsBefore your expert starts any substantive work, there are a handful of things you should expect — and can reasonably ask for — in writing. Skipping this step is one of the more avoidable ways clients end up with problems later.Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 6Inspections and Evidence Gathering: Your Role as the ClientWhere a dispute concerns a physical asset — a building, a defect, an installation, or a piece of infrastructure — your expert will usually need to inspect it to the extent reasonably necessary to form a professionally competent...Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 7What a Compliant Expert Report Actually Needs to ContainThe precise formatting requirements for an expert report differ between the DIFC Courts and DIAC arbitration, as we covered in Part 4. But regardless of forum, a properly prepared expert report will typically address the same c...Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 8If the Expert's Opinion Changes Partway ThroughIt's not unusual — and it isn't a failure — for an expert's opinion to change after their report has first been produced. It can happen following disclosure of further documents, a joint meeting with the opposing expert (which ...Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 9Meetings of Experts and Scott Schedules: Narrowing the IssuesIn both DIFC Court proceedings and DIAC arbitration, the Court or tribunal will often direct — or the parties may agree — that experts of the same discipline meet, discuss the issues, and try to narrow their areas of disagreeme...Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution
- 10Tribunal-Appointed Experts, Fees, and the Advocacy TrapWe'll close this series with three things that often catch unrepresented clients out: court- or tribunal-appointed experts, fee arrangements, and the temptation to let one professional wear two hats.Garry Andrews3 min readDispute Resolution