Expert witness · CPR 35 · CrimPR 19 · NI practice directions · single joint expert · defence review · attendance
A digital forensic expert for the court. Independent opinion on computer and storage evidence, written to the rules and defended in the witness box.
When a case turns on what a computer, a drive or a recorder shows, the court may need an expert: not a factual report of what the device records, which the standard examination provides, but an independent opinion on what it means, whether an artefact could have arisen another way, how reliable a timestamp is, whether the prosecution's handling of an exhibit holds up. That opinion is given in a report written to the rules that govern expert evidence, CPR Part 35 and Practice Direction 35 in civil proceedings in England and Wales, Part 19 of the Criminal Procedure Rules in criminal cases, and the equivalent practice directions in Northern Ireland, with the expert's qualifications, the instructions, the range of opinion and the reasons, the declaration and the statement of truth. It is addressed to the court, the expert's duty is to the court, and the expert attends to be cross-examined on it. We take instructions from solicitors on either side and as a single joint expert, in civil, employment, family and criminal matters, on computers, drives, removable media and recorders; not on mobile phones. The fee is quoted on the questions, the material and the timetable, and it is never contingent on the outcome.
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What the expert report contains, and how it differs from the standard report.
The standard forensic report records what the device shows as fact: what was connected, opened, deleted and recovered, and when. Most matters need nothing more, and it is often the first stage of an expert instruction, because it tells the solicitor whether there is anything for an expert to opine on.
The expert report adds opinion, within the expert's expertise, with the reasoning: whether the artefacts support the conclusion drawn from them, what alternative explanations the data allows, how reliable the timestamps are, whether the exhibit was acquired and handled properly, and where the range of professional opinion lies. It sets out the expert's qualifications and experience, the instructions received, the material examined, the literature relied on, the facts within the expert's own knowledge, any limitation on the opinion, and the declaration that the expert understands and has complied with the duty to the court, closed with the statement of truth. In criminal cases it adds the disclosure of working notes and unused material that the rules require.
Single joint expert. Where the court directs one expert for both parties, the instructions are joint and the duty identical; we take such instructions, and the report is written for the court rather than for either side.
Attendance. The expert attends the hearing to be examined on the report, in person or by video link as the court directs, and is quoted on a daily rate with the report.
When a digital forensic expert is needed.
Questions answered before you instruct.
Can you act for either side?
Yes, and as a single joint expert. The duty is to the court either way, and the report says the same thing whoever instructs it.
What qualifies you as an expert?
Experience of examining computers, drives and storage to evidential standards, the method set out across this site, and the ability to explain it in court. The report sets out the expert's qualifications and experience in full, as the rules require; ask at the first conversation and we will tell you plainly who would act.
Do you examine phones for court?
No. Mobile phone forensics is a specialist field with its own tools, and we do not offer it. For a case that turns on a phone, a mobile specialist should be instructed; for the computers, drives and recorders in the same case, we can act.
How is the fee set?
On the questions asked, the volume of material and the hearing timetable, quoted in writing before work begins, with attendance at a daily rate. It is never contingent on the outcome, because an expert whose fee depended on the result would not be independent. Legal aid in England and Wales pays a codified rate; in Northern Ireland the Legal Services Agency approves fees case by case.
Should I start with the standard report?
Usually. The standard examination at £800 + VAT establishes what the device shows and whether there is anything for an expert to opine on, and it is the first stage of the expert report, so nothing is wasted.
Instruct in writing; we reply within a working day.
Tell us the court, the questions and the timetable, and whether the instruction is joint. The first conversation is free, and the fee is quoted before any work.