Expert witnesses · Litigation and arbitration
What should an expert witness CV include?
An expert witness CV should set out the qualifications and experience that make the expert competent on the issues: degrees and professional qualifications, current and past appointments, the specific areas of expertise, relevant professional experience, publications, and previous work as an expert, including testimony. No rule prescribes a CV format, but the rules require qualifications in the report: in England and Wales, Practice Direction 35 paragraph 3.2(1); in US federal courts, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B), which also requires publications from the previous 10 years and testimony from the previous 4.
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What the rules say
- England and Wales: Practice Direction 35, paragraph 3.2(1): an expert's report must give details of the expert's qualifications. Paragraph 3.2(5) also requires the qualifications of anyone who carried out tests or experiments used in the report (justice.gov.uk, Civil Procedure Rules, Part 35 practice direction).
- US federal courts: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B): a retained expert's report must contain the witness's qualifications, including a list of all publications authored in the previous 10 years; a list of all other cases in which, during the previous 4 years, the witness testified as an expert at trial or by deposition; and a statement of the compensation to be paid for the study and testimony in the case.
- Arbitration: the tribunal's procedural orders and any rules the parties adopted set the requirements; check them for each matter.
A structure that serves those rules
- Name, current position and the areas of expertise relevant to the matter.
- Qualifications: degrees, professional qualifications, chartered or licensed status, with dates.
- Appointments: current and past roles, most recent first.
- Professional experience relevant to the issues.
- Publications, with the period the court's rules require.
- Expert witness experience: matters, forums and whether the expert gave oral evidence or testimony, as far as confidentiality allows.
- Memberships, training as an expert witness, and languages.
Doing it with Formatix
Formatix AI's expert witness CV template follows that order. Upload the expert's existing CV, often a long academic or professional document, with a note on the matter, and Formatix fills the template in about thirty seconds. It lays out what the CV contains; it does not verify credentials or decide what must be disclosed, and anything missing stays blank. New accounts get 10 free credits, valid for 14 days, with no card.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there an official expert witness CV format?
- We know of none in England and Wales or in US federal courts. The rules require qualifications (and, under FRCP 26(a)(2)(B), publications and prior testimony) in the expert's report; the CV format is up to the expert and the instructing lawyers.
- Should an expert witness CV list every case?
- In US federal cases, the report must list cases in which the expert testified at trial or by deposition in the previous 4 years. Elsewhere, follow the court's rules and your lawyers' advice, and respect confidentiality.
- Can Formatix check an expert's qualifications?
- No. It formats what the CV says. Verifying qualifications and conflicts stays with your team.
Try it on your own documents
Upload a document your firm already sends and a CV, and see the result in your own template.