40 THE LAW AFFECTING ENGINEERS 



know to be accurate both in the letter and the spirit ; but a 

 few telling questions in cross-examination may upset the whole 

 fabric which he has desired to support. 



4. The expert should warn the clients of their difficulties. 

 -Assuming that the expert is satisfied, after perusing the 

 documents, that the case is one which he can support in the 

 main, he should not hesitate to point out, at the earliest 

 possible moment, the existence of any difficulties which have 

 presented themselves to his mind. If such difficulties have 

 occurred to him, it may be assumed that they have occurred 

 to the experts on the other side. The advocate who is to 

 conduct a case wants to know what can be said against his 

 client in order that he may not be taken by surprise. The 

 maxim " Forewarned is forearmed " applies to legal contests. 

 Further, it may well be that a technical difficulty is not a 

 legal difficulty ; and that, when the legal mind is applied to 

 the case, that which appears to a technical expert to be 

 important is wholly immaterial to the cause of action, or to 

 the defence. 



5. Duty of expert in consultation. After he has charged 

 himself with the facts of the case under consideration, it is 

 probable that the next appearance of the expert witness will 

 be in consultation with solicitor and counsel. At the con- 

 sultation, all points which tell in favour of the plaintiff or 

 defendant will be fully discussed, and the expert must not be 

 surprised to find himself closely cross-examined by the counsel 

 who is eventually to support his view of the case. The 

 engineer may generally assume that the counsel engaged 

 have at least an elementary knowledge of the scientific ques- 

 tions upon which the case depends. The work of the legal 

 profession has of late years become so highly specialised that 

 the solicitor has but little difficulty in finding a barrister who 

 has had a scientific education. Much time may, therefore, be 

 saved by assuming that counsel have special knowledge. If 

 he has no such knowledge he will soon say so. 



6. Duty of the expert in Court. The next appearance of the 

 expert will be in Court. He must not always assume that the 

 judge and opposing counsel have no knowledge of technical 

 matters. The judge may have tried many similar cases in the 



