Instructing & fees
Simple to instruct. Clear on cost.
Four steps from question to served report. Fee and scope fixed in writing before anyone commits, and no fee ever contingent on the outcome.
Instructing an expert
Step by step
Solicitors, insurers and counsel usually make the first contact. Litigants in person are welcome to enquire; the duties of the expert are the same.
What to send with the first enquiry
The type of matter and the court timetable; the question or questions the court needs answered; and whatever papers exist, which is usually photographs, repair estimates, statements and any scene plan. If an event data recorder download, dashcam footage or CCTV may exist, say so in the first line: it is overwritten quickly.
The question
Send the type of matter, the court timetable and the question the court needs answered. I say whether the engineering can help, and what it would cost. I reply personally, usually within one working day.
Terms and papers
A fixed fee in writing, a conflict check, and a schedule of the papers received and the papers missing. Event data and video are requested before they are overwritten. Papers are exchanged by secure means, never through the website.
Analysis
Every input sourced, every calculation cross-checked by a second method, every result carried through with its tolerance.
The report
Written to CPR Part 35 or CrimPR Part 19 in substance as well as form, read again as a hostile expert would read it, then served. Joint statements and attendance follow if needed, quoted separately.
Fees
One fixed fee, agreed in writing.
Every report is quoted as a fixed fee on the papers actually supplied, stated in the terms of engagement before the instruction is accepted. Court attendance and later work are quoted separately when they arise.
- Fixed for the instruction
- A fee for the report is agreed in writing before work starts, on the papers actually supplied. No hourly surprises.
- Never outcome-related
- Fees are payable whatever the opinion turns out to be. That independence is what the expert's declaration promises the court.
- Court attendance by the day
- Conferences, joint statements and attendance at trial are quoted separately, by the day or half day, when they arise.
- Legal aid where it applies
- Criminal defence instructions funded by legal aid are quoted in the form the Legal Aid Agency's prior authority process needs.
What the fee covers
- Conflict check and written terms of engagement
- Schedule of papers received and papers missing
- Reading and indexing the bundle
- Analysis, with each calculation cross-checked by a second method
- The report, with sources, assumptions and the prescribed declaration
- A short covering note on what the report does and does not answer
Professional indemnity insurance of £2,000,000. Certificate of insurance provided with terms of engagement on request.
Expert witness profile (PDF, 4 pages) The practice, the rules every report is held to, the questions I am instructed on, and the boundary with my mediation work. For instructing solicitors, insurers and counsel.Conflicts
Checked across both practices.
Will you give a preliminary view before I instruct a full report?
Yes. A short screening opinion on the papers, saying whether the engineering supports or undermines the case and what a full report would cover, is often the right first step. It is fixed-fee and it sets the scope for anything that follows.
How quickly can a report be produced?
A realistic date is given with the fee, against the papers and the question, and it is kept. Priority and express options are available, and an emergency 24-hour screening opinion can be arranged. The practice takes a small number of reports at a time precisely so that dates can be kept.
What about small claims?
Fixed-fee screening reports proportionate to the recoverable fee cap, written so that a district judge can follow every step.
Can you act for either side?
Yes, and as a single joint expert. The method and the opinion do not change with the instructing party.
What about legal aid?
Defence instructions funded by legal aid are quoted in the form the Legal Aid Agency's prior authority process requires, with court attendance costed in the same quotation so that a single application covers it.
Can I send photographs and papers through the website?
No. The website form is hosted outside the United Kingdom and is for an outline enquiry only. Once terms are agreed, papers are exchanged by secure means and held in the UK.
What papers do you need?
Whatever exists: photographs of every vehicle, repair estimates and invoices, statements, the police report and scene plan where there is one, video, and any download from the vehicles. The first product of every instruction is a schedule of what has been supplied and what is missing, so nothing is analysed on an incomplete picture.
Enquiries
Check availability.
Send the type of matter, the parties' names for a conflict check and the dates you are working to. I will come back with a fixed-fee proposal or a plain explanation of why the engineering cannot help.
Prefer email? rogernewbyconsulting@gmail.com
Roger Newby
Vehicle Engineer & Expert Witness