“Only an expert can deal with the problem.
So if there’s no expert dealing with the problem, it’s really actually twice the problem.”
[“Only an Expert” by Laurie Anderson, 2010]
In a legal proceeding, your opposing party may hold on to an incorrect position or may even engage in a game of bluff, unless challenged by scientific findings and expert opinions. Cases that involve complex technical issues require specialised scientific knowledge beyond the reach of laypersons. As a resource person with comprehensive and authoritative knowledge in specific forensic disciplines, a forensic expert can be a great help to your case. The expert can assist you by identifying incongruences in the case and provide an impactful forensic report, differentiate between a valid scientific finding, subtle innuendo and error in the opposing party’s expert report, and help to enlighten and clarify scientific issues.
Just as a team playing a football match with only 10 players on the field suffers a great disadvantage and is likely to concede goals without scoring any, a legal team confronting forensic issues without an expert is hamstrung and unlikely to perform optimally. Asymmetries of information, even when seemingly small, can have profound effects on the outcome of a case.
However, not every lawyer or client recognises the need to engage a qualified and competent forensic expert. Some reasons for not doing so may be because they:
1. are unaware of the impact of the forensic evidence
- how the seemingly small piece of forensic evidence can be used to initiate legal proceedings to pursue a huge claim
- how the scientific findings can be used to boost the case strategy.
2. believe that forensic findings produced by the other party are cast in stone, and that there is no point contesting inescapable “facts”.
3. feel that burden of proof is with the other party, not realising that they can be proactive in turning the game around by using objective scientific evidence.
4. adopt a casual approach to scientific evidence, certain that the case can be won with common sense and legal arguments.
5. are concerned with drumming up additional costs.
Case Study
[HC/S 109/2018]: In a case involving fraud and misappropriation of company funds, TFEG’s forensic findings were used by the Plaintiff to establish the validity of the legal claim. The expert report findings and expert witness testimony provided simple, yet convincing and unequivocal scientific evidence of fabrication of company payment vouchers that were issued to the defendant. The case was further boosted by forensic accounting evidence.Checks and balances are necessary in our adversarial system to uncover the truth. As pointed out by Eleanor Roosevelt, “Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.”
Be a forerunner. Consult our experts today for your available course of action – It may help make or break your case! Call us at 6459 0494 or email us at enquiries@forensicexperts.com.sg.