Legal
Terms of Use
instruct.expert — operated by Cliniscape Ltd · Last updated: March 2026
1.About these terms
These terms of use govern your access to and use of the instruct.expert platform. By creating an account or using the platform, you agree to be bound by these terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.
instruct.expert is operated by Cliniscape Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 13648703) with its registered office at Atrium, York Eco Business Centre, Amy Johnson Way, York, England, YO30 4AG.
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
2.What instruct.expert does
instruct.expert is an AI-powered platform that helps legal professionals and litigants in person find suitable expert witnesses for their legal proceedings. The platform uses artificial intelligence to analyse case details and recommend expert witnesses based on their specialism, jurisdiction, court experience, availability, and fee range.
The platform also provides a directory of expert witness profiles that can be browsed and filtered.
3.What instruct.expert does not do
instruct.expert is a recommendation and matching tool. It is important that you understand what the platform does not do:
No legal advice
The platform does not assess the merits of your case, advise you on legal strategy, or provide any form of legal counsel.
No certification or endorsement of experts
Inclusion on the platform does not constitute a guarantee of an expert's qualifications, competence, reliability, or suitability for any particular case or court.
No verification of expert profiles
While we encourage experts to provide accurate information, we do not independently verify qualifications, experience claims, or other profile content. It is the responsibility of the instructing party to verify an expert's credentials and suitability.
No agency role
We do not instruct experts on your behalf, negotiate fees, manage cases, or insert ourselves into the legal professional-expert relationship. Once a match is made, the relationship is directly between you and the expert.
No guarantee of AI accuracy
Our AI matching engine provides recommendations based on the information available. Recommendations may not always be appropriate for your specific circumstances. The AI may make errors or produce unexpected results.
4.User accounts
Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. By registering as a legal professional, you represent that you are a qualified solicitor, barrister, or legal professional. By registering as a litigant in person, you represent that you are a party to legal proceedings or are considering bringing or defending proceedings.
Account security
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You must not share your login details with others. You must notify us immediately if you become aware of any unauthorised access to your account.
Account types
Legal Professional accounts
Free to create and use. There is no subscription fee, no commission, and no hidden charges for legal professionals.
Litigant in Person accounts
Free to create and use, on the same basis as legal professional accounts.
Expert Witness accounts
Founding members (the first 100 expert witnesses to join) receive permanent free membership — no annual fees, no commission, no hidden costs, regardless of any future pricing changes. Expert witnesses who join after the founding member allocation is filled will be subject to a subscription fee, details of which will be published on the platform before any charge is applied.
Account termination
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account that violates these terms, contains materially inaccurate information, is used for fraudulent purposes, or is used in a way that could bring the platform into disrepute.
You may close your account at any time by contacting us at hello@instruct.expert. Upon closure, your personal data will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Notice.
5.Expert witnesses — additional terms
If you register as an expert witness, the following additional terms apply:
Profile accuracy
You must ensure that your profile information is accurate, complete, and kept up to date. This includes your qualifications, specialisms, jurisdiction coverage, court experience, fee range, and availability. Inaccurate or misleading profile information may result in account suspension.
Professional standards
You must hold and maintain appropriate professional qualifications and registrations for your stated specialism. You must comply with all relevant professional codes of conduct and regulatory requirements. You must comply with the duties of an expert witness as set out in the relevant procedural rules (including CPR Part 35, CrPR, FPR Part 25, or equivalent rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland).
Availability
You must keep your availability status up to date. If you are not currently accepting instructions, you must set your status to unavailable.
Fees
The fee range displayed on your profile should accurately reflect your current rates. You are free to set and negotiate your own fees directly with instructing parties. instruct.expert does not set, cap, or take commission on expert fees.
Independence
Your overriding duty is to the court, not to the party instructing you. instruct.expert does not interfere with or seek to influence the content of your expert opinion.
6.Legal professionals and litigants in person — additional terms
If you use the platform to search for expert witnesses, the following additional terms apply:
Professional responsibility
If you are a legal professional, you retain full professional responsibility for verifying the suitability of any expert witness you instruct. AI recommendations are a starting point, not a substitute for your own professional judgment and due diligence.
Case details
When you submit case details for AI matching, you must ensure that you have appropriate authority to share the information provided. If you are a legal professional, you must consider your duties of confidentiality to your client.
You should not include patient identifiable information, client names, dates of birth, addresses, NHS numbers, or any other information that could identify an individual. Describe the nature of the case, the type of expertise required, and the relevant clinical or factual issues — not the identity of the parties involved.
The AI matching engine does not need identifying details to find suitable experts. The platform is designed so that case details are processed for matching purposes only and are automatically deleted within 24 hours.
Litigants in person
If you are representing yourself, you are responsible for your own decision to instruct an expert witness. We strongly recommend that you seek independent legal advice about whether expert evidence is appropriate for your case and, if so, what type of expert you need. The recommendations provided by the platform are not a substitute for professional legal advice.
No guarantee of outcome
Instructing an expert witness through this platform does not guarantee any particular outcome in your legal proceedings. The admissibility, weight, and usefulness of expert evidence are matters for the relevant court.
7.AI matching — limitations and disclaimers
The AI matching feature is provided as a tool to assist in identifying potentially suitable expert witnesses. You should be aware of the following limitations:
- —The AI analyses the text you provide and compares it against expert profiles in the database. It does not have access to court files, legal databases, or any information beyond what you provide and the expert profiles on the platform.
- —The AI may not correctly interpret ambiguous, incomplete, or highly technical case descriptions. Providing clear, detailed case descriptions will improve the quality of recommendations.
- —The AI matches based on the information experts have provided in their profiles. If an expert's profile is incomplete or inaccurate, the quality of matching may be affected.
- —The AI does not assess the quality of an expert's previous work, their reputation with courts or judges, or any complaints or regulatory findings against them.
- —Recommendations should always be independently verified before instructing an expert.
8.Intellectual property
The instruct.expert platform, including its design, code, AI matching engine, and content (excluding user-generated content), is the intellectual property of Cliniscape Ltd. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from the platform without our prior written consent.
Expert witnesses retain ownership of the content they provide in their profiles. By creating a profile, you grant Cliniscape Ltd a non-exclusive, worldwide licence to display your profile content on the platform for the purpose of the matching service.
9.Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law:
instruct.expert is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We do not warrant that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from security vulnerabilities.
We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of the platform, including but not limited to any loss arising from reliance on AI recommendations, the conduct or performance of any expert witness found through the platform, any inaccuracy in expert witness profiles, any failure or delay in the AI matching service, or any unauthorised access to your account where you have failed to maintain adequate security.
Our total liability to you in respect of all claims arising from or in connection with these terms shall not exceed the amount you have paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or £100, whichever is greater.
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for:
- —Death or personal injury caused by our negligence
- —Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation
- —Any other liability that cannot be excluded by law
10.Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Cliniscape Ltd, its directors, officers, and employees from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from your breach of these terms, your use of the platform, or any content you submit to the platform.
11.Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. We will notify registered users of any material changes by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
12.General provisions
Entire agreement
These terms, together with our Privacy Notice, constitute the entire agreement between you and Cliniscape Ltd in relation to the platform.
Severability
If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
Waiver
Our failure to enforce any provision of these terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
Assignment
You may not assign your rights under these terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations under these terms to any successor to our business.
13.Contact us
If you have any questions about these terms, please contact us:
Cliniscape Ltd
Atrium, York Eco Business Centre, Amy Johnson Way, York, England, YO30 4AG
Email: hello@instruct.expert