Report type
Single joint expert dental reports
One expert, instructed by both parties, reporting to the court — instructed correctly for whichever UK legal system your case sits in.
Purpose and limits
What a single joint expert is
A single joint expert is instructed by both parties jointly to prepare one report for the court, rather than each side instructing its own.
The expert owes an equal duty to all instructing parties and, above them, an overriding duty to the court. That principle holds across the United Kingdom. The procedure around it does not — and that is the part solicitors most often get caught by.
Where liability is genuinely and substantially in dispute, separate experts are often more appropriate. We will say so if a joint instruction is proposed for a claim that needs two.
View breach and causation reports →The hard part
One term. Three legal systems.
The single joint expert is a creature of the Civil Procedure Rules — and the CPR runs in England and Wales only.
Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate legal systems with their own rules and their own habits. A joint instruction that is routine in a Cardiff fast-track claim is rare in the Court of Session and sits under a different rule book in Belfast. The mistake is to treat “UK-wide” as one procedure. We do not: we identify the system your case sits in and instruct the right expert on the right basis for that court.
Jurisdiction by jurisdiction
How a joint instruction works across the UK
Four nations, three systems of civil procedure. Here is what a single joint expert means in each.
England and Wales
The single joint expert is a formal tool of the Civil Procedure Rules. The court may direct one under CPR 35.7; either party may give instructions under CPR 35.8, copying the other at the same time; and unless the court directs otherwise the parties are jointly and severally liable for the fees. Single joint experts are the norm on the small claims and fast tracks.
Scotland
A separate legal system, and the single joint expert is not part of routine Scottish practice — joint experts are rare. In the Court of Session and the sheriff court each party generally instructs its own expert, known in Scots practice as the skilled witness, and the court weighs the competing evidence and forms its own view (Davie v Magistrates of Edinburgh 1953 SC 34). We match and instruct on that basis, not on the CPR model.
Northern Ireland
A separate jurisdiction again, with its own Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980 and practice directions on expert evidence. A single joint expert can be appointed and owes duties equally to all instructing parties and an overriding duty to the court. The mechanics resemble the CPR position but sit in a different rule book.
Instruction context
When a single joint expert is appropriate
- 01
Lower-value claims
Where separate experts would be disproportionate to what is at stake.
- 02
Fast-track and small-claims cases
Where a single joint expert is the norm in England and Wales.
- 03
Issues unlikely to be contentious
Where one view will resolve the point.
- 04
Where the parties agree
That one expert will narrow the dispute and save cost, in whichever court the claim is brought.
Matching the role
The expert we match
An expert of the discipline the issue requires, instructed on the correct basis for the court — a CPR single joint expert in England and Wales, or the appropriate arrangement in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
And with the temperament for a joint instruction: able to hold a position under pressure from both sides, and to explain it in plain terms to a court.
For instructing solicitors
Why solicitors instruct us
We match for the role, not just the discipline
A single joint expert is questioned by both parties. The report has to withstand that from the outset.
We know which UK system your case sits in
England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland treat joint expert evidence differently. We instruct on the right basis for the court hearing your claim, rather than assuming one UK-wide procedure.
We will tell you when a joint instruction is the wrong choice
Where the issue needs two experts, a single joint expert saves cost you will spend later anyway.
Deferred terms for CFA-funded cases
For cases funded under a conditional fee agreement, payment can be deferred to the conclusion of the claim where agreed in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Before you instruct
An expert instructed by both parties jointly to prepare one report for the court. In England and Wales the court may direct one under CPR 35.7.
No. It is a Civil Procedure Rules tool, so it runs in England and Wales. Scotland rarely uses joint experts and each party usually instructs its own; Northern Ireland has its own rules under which a joint expert can be appointed. We instruct on the correct basis for the court.
In England and Wales, unless the court directs otherwise, the instructing parties are jointly and severally liable for the fees under CPR 35.8.
No. Instructions are copied to both sides, and the expert does not meet one party alone without agreement or a court direction.
An expert has no immunity from suit for evidence given in proceedings, following Jones v Kaney [2011] UKSC 13. The duty of care to the instructing parties applies.
Discuss an instruction
Need a single joint expert?
Tell us the issue and the court, and a case manager will send a suitable CV and a fixed quote.