Technical Web Services provides independent expert witness and digital forensic opinion in relation to websites, domains, hosting infrastructure, SEO disputes, online publishing systems and web service delivery issues.
We act for solicitors, businesses and private parties requiring independent technical analysis for litigation, tribunal proceedings, mediation or pre-action dispute resolution.
Services are charged at £72/hour or £600/week.
Past Legal Clients
Below are some of our preofessional legal instructions. We have also carried out other work directly for the involved parties in disputes:
Services
- Contract & Proposal Review: TWS have been called in to review contract proposals in relation to high value SEO bids. In these instances, it can be determined that SEO suppliers and others can often hide the nature of their proposed service activity beneath layers of flowery language and complex terms. This service can also involve sitting in on contract negotiations and meetings as a third party expert witness to determine that the service provider is putting forward readily achievable objectives as well as determining that all such measures to determine these objectives are met are in place. This service is also applicable to web site design proposals and management bids.
- Domain Resolution: A small area but often a complex one, TWS can advise on domain ownership and domain squatting issues. TWS can also assist in retrieving lost domains from service providers that are out of business or otherwise unwilling to undertake domain transfers or changes of ownership.
- Single Joint Expert (SJE) Appointments: Technical Web Services Ltd regularly accepts appointments as a Single Joint Expert under CPR Part 35. As a Single Joint Expert, Patrick Findlay owes an overriding duty to the Court rather than to either party. All substantive communications are copied to all parties, reports are served simultaneously, and the instruction is administered in a transparent and impartial manner. To simplify the process, Technical Web Services Ltd provides all parties with an onboarding guide explaining: how the instruction is accepted; communication procedures; evidence submission; secure SharePoint evidence handling; written questions; report delivery; billing arrangements. A redacted example of this onboarding guide is available here.
- Delivery & Performance Disputes: TWS can provide independent technical opinion in cases where a website, SEO campaign, hosting service or related digital project is alleged to have failed to meet contractual expectations or industry standards. This can include disputes concerning incomplete website delivery, defective coding, failed integrations, missing functionality, database or JavaScript errors, website usability issues, hosting failures, or disputes relating to promised SEO or traffic performance.
TWS can review proposals, specifications, communications, archived website evidence and technical implementation in order to assess whether services were delivered with reasonable care and skill, whether claims made by a supplier were technically realistic, and whether delivered work was fit for purpose.
In SEO-related disputes, TWS can assess the nature and extent of optimisation work claimed to have been undertaken, review available technical evidence, and provide independent opinion regarding industry practice and the reasonableness of performance claims. Any opinion provided will depend on the available evidence and the specific facts of the case. - Costing: TWS can also advise on costing issues, advising on market standards and service value. The whole world of web based services is generally unregulated. As such, costs can vary considerably across the board. Some companies can charge £50 for a tag change whilst others offer this service for free. In many cases the values are negligible, but once your spend reaches a certain level it can be beneficial to perform some cost analysis. In particular, paid advertising services can often incur huge costs with little return. TWS can assist at all levels in determining the overall value of your web based spend and advise on best practice for controlling expenditure. As a third party Expert Witness, TWS will produce an audit with recommendations. TWS has experience in saving companies more than £1000/year in this regard.
- General Service: In many cases, court action is not necessary, as many problems are caused by the differences in a customers understanding of issues and that of the service provider. In such cases, TWS can act as a mediator in a conflict resolution role between the two parties to determine the best course of action.
This service is suitable for businesses, solicitors and private individuals requiring independent technical opinion in relation to websites, digital services and online platforms. TWS can assist in matters ranging from informal dispute resolution and pre-action review through to formal court and tribunal proceedings. A key objective of the service is to provide accessible and cost-effective expert technical analysis in an area that is often highly specialised and poorly understood outside the industry.
Also, please note that the expert witness service does not cover legal advice, only technical opinion on web related practice and services.
If you believe that a website, hosting, SEO or digital service provider has failed to deliver services appropriately, TWS may be able to assist through independent technical review, dispute analysis or formal expert reporting.
To learn more about our Expert Witness services please feel free to call for an informal chat on 07745 466608, or e-mail office@technicalweb.co.uk
Guidance
Before you elect to use an expert witness you must determine what sort of service you require. The options are generally either Advice or Preparation Of Report For Court. The two options are detailed below:
Advice: Advice can be provided at several levels:
- Verbal Consultation
- Informal Report (no scalability for court use)
- Formal Report (Based on Model Report for Court use)
Court Report: A Court Report will be based on a Model report as described by the CPR35. Preparation of a Court Report is generally more onerous and can result in written questions from the court or other party as well as court attendance, all of which will result in additional fees.
In all cases, the provision of the service shall be approached as through a duty to a court, that is, the service is impartial and you might not feel that the conclusions are correct or in your favour. To put this into perspective, when a client appoints an expert witness to a court case, the expert witness's duty is to the Court, not the client who appointed him.
Whatever type of service you require you will need to supply supporting information as well as providing clear instructions such as a number of questions to which you wish expert answers. For example:
- Can you determine whether or not the web site at a particular domain is complete and performing to certain criteria set out in a particular document.
- Determine the fairness of design fees for a particular service.
- Determine that a particular service for SEO has been carried out, and whether full care has been undertaken in the provision of this service.
The more specific the questions the better. You can ask Five Questions per party. Additional questions are £75.
Once the questions have been submitted and payment made all correspondence must be made by email and limited to progress. TWS will not engage in general conversation with either party after this point.
Forms & Guidance
The links below provide general guidance regarding the use of expert witnesses in civil proceedings:
CPR Part 35 Practice Direction (PD35).
In some civil proceedings, parties may need permission from the court to rely upon expert evidence. This is commonly dealt with using Form N244, although the precise procedure and fees will depend on the nature of the proceedings and the court involved.
Current court fees and the latest versions of court forms should always be obtained directly from HM Courts & Tribunals Service.
Form N244 - Application Notice
UK Register of Expert Witnesses
TWS is also listed on the UK Register of Expert Witnesses
This offers access to a range of support services for Expert Witnesses, including fact sheets, guidance for experts and external reports and rules.
