Professor Keith Rix awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Expert Witness Institute
We’re delighted that College member Professor Keith Rix was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Expert Witness Institute (EWI) at the Sir Michael Davies Lecture on 9 October.
Simon Berney-Edwards, CEO of EWI writes:
"For those unaware of the Institute, the EWI is the voice of the Expert Witness community; championing experts from all professional disciplines and the lawyers who use their services.
"Their mission is to support the proper administration of justice and the early resolution of disputes through high-quality expert evidence from specialists. They are a professional membership body supporting professionals from all disciplines whether you are an experienced Expert Witness or just starting out.
"Honorary Fellowship is the highest recognition that EWI can give to a person of eminence who has rendered exceptional services to the expert witness community.
"It can also be awarded to members of the community as a reflection of the respect and regard of their colleagues for a particularly important contribution over a long period of time."
In presenting the award, Sir Martin Spencer (Chair of the EWI) concluded saying:
“Professor Keith Rix’s contribution to the expert witness community is invaluable. To say that he is passionate about the integrity of the Expert Witness role would be an understatement. He is described as a very approachable, kind and helpful professional who goes out his way to be supportive to psychiatrists with a medico-legal interest."
The award was presented by Lord Hodge, President of the EWI and Deputy President of the Supreme Court, at their annual Sir Michael Davies Lecture.
This year the lecture was delivered by The Hon Mr Justice Trower, a British High Court judge and member of The Civil Procedure Rule Committee, who provided valuable insights into the theme of ‘Independence, bias and conflicts of interest.
You can read a summary of the key learning points as well as being able to purchase access to the recording of the lecture.
Members acting as expert witnesses may be interested to learn of the College’s online system MAEP (Mult-source Assessment of Expert Practice) developed with Professor Rix, which supports the collection of feedback for appraisal and revalidation.
Professor Rix also writes a monthly newsletter that provides a wealth of helpful information for expert witnesses. You can subscribe for free on the MAEP newsletter webpage.