I’ve been a digital forensic investigator for several years, I’ve been nominated to act as an expert witness as occasion permits. I’ve testified in court and stood up to some particularly rigorous questioning at times. This, I’m sure you’ve all heard before. What you may not know is that expert witness work is in my blood.
My brother, Simon (remember him?) has worked in the same field for as long as I have. He’s also been asked to testify as an expert at times, but that isn’t what I mean. Our father, Jeff Whitfield, has been an expert witness in construction cases for as long as I remember.
As a teenager, he had me accompany him during school breaks. I’d sit and do some menial work to help him, and I was paid in fine dining and movie tickets. It was a fair trade. I also had the opportunity to see him testify in court. I remember going to the High Court in London to watch the proceedings where my dad testified on behalf of a small contracting company, against a international behemoth. His side won, much in part to his own work and testimony.
This experience has stayed with me through my professional life
Whenever we meet up, we always have war stories to share about our latest testifying experiences and such, I’ve learned a great deal from him about handling situations with integrity, when to be assertive and when to say, “I don’t know.”
Why am I reminiscing about this on here? My dad just released a short and inexpensive book entitled, “The Expert Witness in You.” While many of the anecdotes are from his own experience in construction law, the principles and theories he outlines are applicable to expert witnesses regardless of their chosen field. I’ve just finished reading it and would encourage anyone that is, will soon be, or thinks they might want to be an expert witness, to take a look.
The book is only $9.99 in Kindle form and marginally extra for paperback. I want to be clear up-front, this is not an effort to line my father’s pockets or increase any potential inheritance on my part. All money raised from the sales of this book is going to charity. Medicinema UK, provides first run movies from the big screen to long term hospital patients, many of whom have serious conditions.
You can find the book here, https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Witness-You-Jeff-Whitfield-ebook/dp/B088C3M6Z7/
And, yes, I bought the book myself.