Court reports · digital evidence, Reading
A report is obtained for one reason only: what it will stand up to. Someone on the other side has been paid to tear it apart, and anything written to please the instructing party would not survive until lunchtime. Part 35 sets the order of precedence in advance (the duty runs to the court, ahead of the client, solicitor or fee note), and criminal instructions are dealt with under Part 19 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025. Both begin the same way here: written method, exhibit history, the two declarations, and the accreditation position stated at the top rather than found by the other side. Solicitors and insurance companies across Berkshire receive the same document. The figure is fixed first, from £800 + VAT.
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| The report type | Where it applies | Its contents |
|---|---|---|
| A findings report on its own | Early advice, HR decisions, board-level questions | What was there, how that was established and what it amounts to, in plain English |
| A report on an insured loss | Where causation, extent or liability are in dispute | The findings, the exhibits, and how the loss came about |
| An expert report to CPR Part 35 | Civil claims within England and Wales | The duty at the top; instructions in substance; the full method; both signed statements, for truth and compliance |
| An expert report to CrimPR Part 19 | Cases bound for a criminal court | The criminal form: qualifications, the material the court needs to judge how reliable an expert's opinion is, and declared credibility |
| One jointly instructed expert | Where both sides instruct one examiner together | One report given to each side simultaneously, with the duty running past both sides to the court |
The first scoping call costs nothing. There will be no chargeable work on your case until you have a price in writing. The purpose of this call is to define the scope of the work. Specifically, we identify all relevant events, the accounts and machines involved and, most importantly, what the evidence needs to prove. Forensic instructions begin at £800 + VAT, and the scope decides where yours lands.
We include in the report our own summary of the letter of instructions, as CPR 35.10 requires, and no privilege can be attached to it. Alongside it, we include everything else that may affect our credibility, starting with the obvious: an independent laboratory that holds no accreditation. It is far better read at the start of the report than drawn out of a witness during cross-examination.
Each step is done, and documented, on the premise that an opposing expert will be examining it for weakness. They are told to look for that. There is nothing in the conclusions to favour the party that paid for them.
Format follows forum. Civil instructions are written to CPR Part 35, with PD35 as the reference point. Criminal instructions follow Part 19 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (the rules which replaced those of 2020 in October of that same year). The common elements include: a documented method, the exhibits themselves, an uninterrupted record of custody including dates, and the declarations. The conclusions are at the beginning of each report; technical detail goes into an annex.
Give the other side a finding they cannot check or test, and you are giving them an argument. So it all goes in the bundle: exhibit numbers, the image each conclusion came from, dated handovers, the hashes, and the working notes typed while the job was running. The examiners on the other side will be able to re-run everything and come to the same answer.
A question worth asking any expert on your shortlist: under Part 19 of the Criminal Procedure Rules, an expert must give the court information which could reasonably diminish their credibility, and under CPS guidance not holding an accreditation falls within this. Silence about it places the issue on your client. Our statement is printed on the first page of each report prepared from this room, with the basis for our method set out below it.
Two firms were sharing one folder. The accounts in it existed in two versions that could not be reconciled. Forensic images of both computers showed exactly where each edit was made and in what order those edits occurred, and that answered the question. The dispute closed within a month.
There are differences between a findings report and a court report. A findings report details what was found on the machine and explains how it was determined. A court report also contains those elements, but includes the expert's duty to the court, your instructions in substance, the method and exhibit history from receipt to return, and the two signed statements. It also covers anything the other side may want to raise about the expert.
The court. Payment doesn't come into it. The duty to the court ranks above any duty owed to whoever gave the instructions, and that is what makes the document worth putting before a judge.
Yes. One report, one set of conclusions, and both parties are given it at the same time. Neither party sees a draft before the final report, and neither may alter the wording.
By declaring it at the top of the report rather than in a footnote, we comply with the rules. Method is what attracts weight with a judge, so it is the part of the report that gets most of our effort. Reports often fail because the expert claims more than the evidence supports, not for lack of a certificate.
A report is only ever as good as the instruction behind it, so the first call is about what needs proving, and by when. Looking costs nothing, the fee is fixed in writing, and the findings go only to whoever instructed us.