The Academy of Experts - a personal perspective at 10 years.

I joined The Academy of Experts (TAE) in 1999 as an Associate (AMAE) - very much at the beginning of my career as an Expert Witness.

This was the time of the great reforms in the legal justice system, when the Woolf Reforms brought in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) - 1998, effectively doing away with the "hired gun" at the stroke of the pen.

From that early, hesitant start as an Expert Witness (think of it as imposter syndrome), I undertook a comprehensive round of training with TAE, covering a wide range of topics - from the important Foundation course, Report Writing, the Legal Aspects of being an expert, Expert duties and obligations, and, most importantly, Going to Court. Following this intensive training, I was admitted as a full practicing member with the postnominals MAE.

My career as an Expert Witness developed over the coming years, and I built up a thriving practice as a forensic accountant specialising in criminal matters and commercial claims (breach of contract, professional negligence, consequential losses). Very much a far cry from my days as a general practitioner dealing with accounts, audit and taxation.

In April 2016, I was honoured to be elected a Fellow of The Academy of Experts - a very rare honour, bestowed on less than 100 members over the lifetime of TAE.

As a Fellow, I have had the honour of serving on both the Counsel and Executive of TAE, helping to promote its work to a wider range of professionals, the benefits of the training and accreditation afforded, and to the membership.

In addition to my work as an expert witness, I have undertaken additional training through TAE, becoming a Qualified Mediator and an Accredited Determiner (QDR).

For anyone contemplating becoming an Expert Witness, I thoroughly commend The Academy of Experts.

For further information, contact TAE at

http://www.academyofexperts.org

Contact or phone 020 7430 0333