{"id":2807,"date":"2022-09-11T15:54:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T15:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rockflow.com\/?p=1551"},"modified":"2024-04-16T08:40:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T08:40:29","slug":"honesty-and-integrity-are-the-essential-characteristics-of-an-expert-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rockflow.com\/honesty-and-integrity-are-the-essential-characteristics-of-an-expert-witness\/","title":{"rendered":"Honesty and Integrity are the essential characteristics of an Expert Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

No one would doubt that integrity is an essential element to being a good Expert Witness<\/a>; a role requiring honesty, strong moral principles, and high professional standards.<\/p>\r\n

This quote from C.S. Lewis is very apposite: honesty with oneself is key. Integrity starts right at the very beginning of being engaged as an expert and continues through until your role is complete.<\/p>\r\n

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“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when non one is watching”.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Asking yourself the right questions at the very beginning of an engagement is vitally important. An initial review of the technical information can give you a very good measure of the issues.<\/p>\r\n

As experts in the oil and gas industry, it\u2019s often easy to grasp the main technical essentials of a case quite quickly and identify their technical merits. More importantly, however, one can quickly identify opinions which have little, or no, technical merit. Honesty with yourself at this point is key.<\/p>\r\n

Woe betides the expert who attempts to construct arguments or make claims on the flimsiest of information, or even worse, distort elements of the argument to fit their client\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\r\n

Just like the tight-rope walker risking all and playing fast- and-loose with his own life, experts who might be tempted to take this approach, are risking their own professional integrity by presenting information to a tribunal which is incomplete, and as a result, gives a skewed or biased view of the technical issues.<\/p>\r\n

Integrity starts the very first moment we are approached and asked to act as an expert; getting this wrong will have consequences. An early review of the technical facts and both sides\u2019 technical arguments will allow you to form an initial view and decide how to proceed.<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Primary Rule Number One<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Be ready to decline the engagement if you feel that you are being asked in your role as an expert to do any of the following:<\/p>\r\n