Course Information
Established in 2002, the CUBS Certificate is widely regarded as the industry gold standard for those who act as expert witnesses in England and Wales.
Holding this recognised certificate demonstrates to both instructing parties and the courts that you have been trained, assessed and are deemed to hold the core and requisite competencies to act as an expert witness.
There are three certificates to choose from, with the option to complete multiple certificates where applicable:
- Civil Law Expert Witness Certificate
- Criminal Law Expert Witness Certificate
- Family Law Expert Witness Certificate
CUBS is a valuable marketing tool to promote your expert witness practice. Upon successful completion, certificate holders can join the National Register of University Certificated Expert Witnesses for free.
To date, over 3,000 experts across various professions have completed or are undertaking one of our university certificates.
Key Learning Outcomes
- Understand your role, duties and the law and procedure governing your work
- Know how to produce court compliant reports that will withstand scrutiny
- Learn how the court system works
- Determine the techniques lawyers use in cross-examination and how to handle them
- Identify key skills of presenting confident, clear and effective oral evidence
- Express an opinion based on the foundation of fact
Certificate Details
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Training days: 5 days training
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Assessments: 3 assessments, 2 of which are completed on course
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Public certification format: Virtual
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In-house certification format: Virtual or face-to-face for a group of experts
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Suitable for: New and practising experts
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Cost: £2,295 + VAT if the days are booked separately | £2,065 + VAT if the days are booked together (fees includes the £499 + VAT marking and certification fee)
Please call 020 7549 2549 or email expertwitness@bondsolon.com to discuss or book an in-house course.
Training
Candidates are required to complete the following compulsory training courses:
They can then work toward one or more of the certificates by completing the relevant Law and Procedure course:
- Civil Law and Procedure (2 days)
- Criminal Law and Procedure (2 days)
- Family Law and Procedure (2 days)
Assessment Process
CUBS is assessed in 3 parts. Whilst all 5 days of training and all 3 assessments must be completed within two-years of the first achieved pass (in any assessment element), most candidates complete the programme in a much shorter period of time:
- Assessment of your expert witness report
The candidate can submit their expert witness report to Cardiff University at any time during the two-year period, however it is advised to do so after attending the Cross-Examination Day. The report must be submitted in court-ready condition including any photographs, plans etc. - Review of your performance under cross-examination
An audio-visual recording of the candidate’s performance will be made during the Cross-Examination Day and submitted to Cardiff for marking. - Multiple choice examination on law and procedure
A multiple-choice examination is sat at the end of the Law and Procedure and submitted to Cardiff for marking.
Provided that a pass is reached in all three assessments, the candidate will be awarded the Civil, Criminal or Family Cardiff University Bond Solon (CUBS) Expert Witness Certificate. They will also be provided with a digital CUBS badge, which can be used to publicise and verify their achievement online.