Back to GuidesSeries 2

    Practice Excellence in Engineering & Construction Expert Witness

    A twenty-part series on what practice excellence looks like for construction and engineering expert witnesses in the GCC — duty, instructions, conflicts, evidence gathering, report writing and giving evidence across DIAC, arbitrateAD and the DIFC Courts.

    20 of 20 parts published

    1. 1What Makes a Credible Construction Expert Witness in GCC ArbitrationEvery construction dispute of any size in the GCC will, sooner or later, turn on the evidence of an expert.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    2. 2The Expert's Overriding Duty to the Tribunal: Independence in DIAC and DIFC ProceedingsIf there is one idea an instructing lawyer or a party facing arbitration for the first time needs to absorb about expert evidence, it is this: the expert works for the tribunal, not for you.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    3. 3Accepting Instructions: What Every Quantum and Delay Expert Must Confirm Before EngagementThe most consequential decisions an expert witness makes on a case are often the first ones — before a single page of the report is drafted.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    4. 4Conflicts of Interest in Expert Witness Appointments: A Practical ChecklistConflicts of interest are one of the most common reasons an expert's evidence is challenged — and one of the most preventable, provided they are identified and disclosed early.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    5. 5The Letter of Instruction: What Lawyers Should Include When Instructing a Construction ExpertA poorly framed letter of instruction is one of the most common — and most avoidable — sources of weak expert evidence.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    6. 6Site Inspections and Evidence Gathering on Mega-ProjectsFor a structural expert examining a defects claim, or a delay expert reconstructing what actually happened on site against what the programme said should have happened, the inspection and evidence-gathering phase is where the repo…Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    7. 7Anatomy of a Defensible Expert Report: Structure, Content, and the IBA RulesAn expert witness report is not a technical memorandum with a signature block attached.Garry Andrews5 min readDispute Resolution
    8. 8Distinguishing Fact from Opinion: A Common Pitfall in Delay and Quantum ReportsOf all the ways an otherwise competent expert report can lose credibility under cross-examination, the failure to keep fact and opinion properly separated is among the most common — and among the most damaging, because it tends to…Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    9. 9Assumptions, Instructed Facts, and Provisional Opinions: Getting the Caveats RightSome experts treat caveats as a sign of weakness — a hedge that undermines the authority of the opinion. In reality, the opposite is true.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    10. 10When Experts Change Their Minds: Amending Reports Without Undermining CredibilityA change of expert opinion after a report has been disclosed is not, in itself, a sign of a flawed process.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    11. 11Meetings of Experts and Joint Statements: Narrowing Issues Before the HearingExpert-to-expert meetings are one of the most underused tools in construction and infrastructure arbitration, and also one of the most misunderstood.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    12. 12The Single Joint or Tribunal-Appointed Expert: When and WhyMost construction and infrastructure disputes proceed with each party instructing its own expert.Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    13. 13Cross-Examination Readiness: How Experts Prepare for Oral TestimonyEverything covered earlier in this series — the documented instructions, the disclosed conflicts, the carefully separated fact and opinion, the honestly caveated conclusions — is preparation for a single moment: the point at which…Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    14. 14The Dual Role Trap: Why Advocacy and Expert Evidence Don't MixEvery other article in this series has assumed a clean separation between the expert witness role and the role of advocating a party's case.Garry Andrews5 min readDispute Resolution
    15. 15Fee Arrangements for Expert Witnesses: Why Contingency Fees Undermine CredibilityOf all the questions a party new to arbitration asks when engaging an expert, "can we structure the fee around the outcome?" comes up more often than most practitioners might expect — usually from contractors or private clients ac…Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    16. 16Expert Witness Immunity: What It Covers and What It Doesn'tExperts occasionally assume that once they have accepted an appointment, their evidence is entirely beyond challenge — protected by a form of professional immunity that shields them from any consequence arising from the opinions t…Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    17. 17Aligning Standards: CIArb Protocol, RICS Practice Statement, and the IBA RulesConstruction and engineering experts working across international arbitration in the GCC operate under the shadow-sm of several overlapping professional standards, none of which is universally mandatory in every forum, and none of wh…Garry Andrews5 min readDispute Resolution
    18. 18Choosing the Right Expert: A Guide for Contractors Facing a DisputeFor a contractor or engineering business facing a delay claim, a variation dispute, or a defects allegation, the choice of expert witness is one of the highest-leverage decisions in the entire dispute.Garry Andrews5 min readDispute Resolution
    19. 19Choosing the Right Expert: A Guide for Private Clients Navigating Construction DisputesIf you are a private client facing a dispute over a residential development, a villa build, or a smaller commercial construction project, the world of expert witnesses can feel opaque and intimidating — full of unfamiliar procedur…Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    20. 20Building an Expert Witness Practice: Independence, Rigor, and ReputationThis series has worked through the mechanics of expert witness practice at every stage — accepting instructions, managing conflicts, inspecting the works, structuring a defensible report, engaging honestly in expert meetings, prep…Garry Andrews4 min readDispute Resolution
    Book a Consultation Send Your Case
    CallConsultationSend Case