An expert witness website has one job that most websites never face: it has to convince a careful, skeptical attorney that you are worth a phone call, and it has to survive being read by opposing counsel later. Picture a litigation partner at nine at night. She has a premises liability case, a deadline to disclose experts, and three names from a colleague. She opens all three sites in tabs.
One site loads slowly and looks like it was built in 2009. One is a single page with a photo and a phone number. The third has a clear summary of what the expert testifies about, a current CV to download, a list of case types, and a simple form to run a conflict check. Guess who gets the call in the morning.
We have built sites for consultants who also serve as experts, including josephpaulmanley.com and schoolsecurity.org, and the same patterns come up every time. Below is what I’d put on an expert witness website, what I’d leave off, and why the details matter more here than almost anywhere else.
- Attorneys use your expert witness website to answer one question fast: is this person qualified for my case, and will they hold up?
- A current, downloadable CV and a clear list of case types matter more than clever design.
- Mention fees only as “available on request” and keep the details for the engagement conversation.
- A conflict check form saves both sides time and signals that you run a professional practice.
- Assume opposing counsel will read every word, so keep claims accurate, modest and consistent with your CV.
How attorneys actually vet an expert witness website
Attorneys are trained to look for weak spots. When they land on your expert witness website, they are not browsing. They are screening. In my experience talking with clients who do this work, the screening usually follows a rough order.
- Do you cover the exact subject matter of their case?
- Are your credentials real, current and relevant?
- Have you testified before, and in what kind of matters?
- Have you written or said anything that could be used against their case?
- Do you look and sound like someone a jury will trust?
- Is it easy to reach you and check for conflicts?
Your site should answer those questions in roughly that order. If the attorney has to dig for any of them, there is a decent chance they move on to the next tab. They are busy, they bill by the hour, and they have other names.
The second reader: opposing counsel
Here is what makes an expert witness website different from a normal consultant site. The other side will read it too, and they are hoping to find something. An overstated claim, a credential that does not match your CV, a blog post that contradicts your opinion in the current case. Everything you publish can come up in a deposition. Write accordingly, and have attorneys you trust look over anything sensitive.
1. A homepage that says exactly what you testify about
The top of your homepage should state, in one or two plain sentences, your field, your specialty and the kinds of matters you consult on. Something like: “Security expert and consultant providing opinions on premises liability, negligent security and workplace violence matters.” No slogans. No vague promises about “excellence.”
Below that, give the attorney three clear paths: view your CV, see your areas of expertise, and contact you about a case. That is the whole purpose of an expert witness website homepage. Many of the best ones we have seen are almost boring, and that is a compliment.
What to avoid on the homepage
- Stock photos of gavels and scales of justice.
- Phrases like “the expert who wins cases.” That reads as advocacy, and experts are supposed to be independent.
- Auto playing video or sliders that hide the main message.
- A wall of logos from law firms you have worked with, unless you have their permission.
Where the About page fits on an expert witness website
Your About page is where the person behind the CV shows up. Attorneys want a sense of how you think and how you will come across in a deposition room. A few short paragraphs on your background, why you do expert work and how you approach an assignment go a long way. Keep it human, but keep it factual. On an expert witness website, the About page should feel like a calm introduction from a colleague, not a sales pitch.
2. A CV page attorneys can download and trust
Your CV is the single most important document on an expert witness website. Attorneys will download it, print it, mark it up and attach it to filings. Make that easy.
Offer a clean PDF that matches the information on the web page exactly. Put the date it was last updated at the top. Include education, certifications, professional history, memberships, publications, presentations and a testimony list (or a note that the list is available on request, depending on what the attorneys you work with prefer). Then show a readable summary on the page itself, so people on phones don’t have to open a file.
Keep the CV and the site in sync
This sounds obvious, yet it is the mistake I see most often. The site says “25 years of experience,” the CV implies 21. The site lists a certification that lapsed last year. Small differences like that give opposing counsel an easy line of questioning. We build a simple update routine into every expert witness website we maintain: when the CV changes, the site changes the same week.
3. Case types and areas of expertise
Attorneys search by problem, not by your job title. A lawyer handling a parking garage assault does not search for “security consultant.” They search for “negligent security expert” or “premises liability security expert.” Your expert witness website should mirror that language.
Create a short page, or a clear section, for each main type of matter you consult on. On each one, explain what questions you typically address, what standards or guidelines you work from, and what kind of materials you review. Keep it factual. You are describing your scope, not arguing a case.
Examples of case type pages
- Negligent security and premises liability
- School safety and student supervision
- Workplace violence and threat assessment
- Security staffing, training and policy standards
- Hospital and healthcare security
Pages like these also help your SEO as a consultant, because they match what attorneys type into Google. That is where a well planned expert witness website quietly does marketing for you while you are in the field.
4. Testimony experience, stated carefully
Attorneys want to know if you have been deposed and if you have testified at trial. They also want to know if you have worked for plaintiffs, defendants or both, since balance can matter for credibility.
State this clearly and accurately. “Retained by both plaintiff and defense counsel” is useful if it is true. If you are newer to expert work, say so honestly and lean on your field experience instead. Never inflate numbers. Whatever you write on your expert witness website, assume you will be asked to confirm it under oath.
Should you list specific cases?
That depends on your field, your rules and your clients. Many experts keep a formal testimony list in their CV or provide it on request, rather than publishing case names on the site. Talk with attorneys you trust before posting anything specific, and get permission where it is needed.
5. Publications, talks and teaching
Published articles, book chapters, conference presentations and teaching roles show that peers take your thinking seriously. They also give attorneys a way to check whether your past opinions line up with what they need. That cuts both ways, which is exactly why they will look.
Give publications their own page. List each one with the title, outlet, date and a link or PDF where you have the right to share it. For talks, include the event name and year. On the schoolsecurity.org project, the depth of Ken Trump’s published work and media history was one of the strongest parts of the site, so we gave it real space rather than burying it.
Review old content before you publish it
If you have years of blog posts or newsletters, read them again before moving them to a new expert witness website. Opinions change and standards get updated. An old post that says something you no longer believe is a gift to the other side. Archive it, update it with a clear note, or remove it, ideally after a quick chat with counsel.
6. Fees: “available on request”
Attorneys need to know about fees, but your expert witness website is not the place to publish a rate sheet. Rates change, they vary by type of work, and published numbers invite questions you would rather handle in a proper engagement conversation.
Our advice for any expert witness website is simple. Mention that a fee schedule and retainer terms are available on request, and make that request easy through your contact or intake form. That tells attorneys you have a professional, organized process without putting figures in public view.
Quick tip: Add a short line near your form such as “Fee schedule and engagement terms available on request.” It answers the question every attorney has, without saying more than you need to.
Need an expert witness website that attorneys trust?We design clear, credible sites for consultants who serve as experts, built around your CV and the cases you take.
7. A conflict check form on your expert witness website
Before any real conversation, both sides need to know there is no conflict. A simple intake form on your expert witness website speeds this up and keeps the first call focused.
Ask for the basics only: the attorney’s name, firm, email and phone, the parties involved, the jurisdiction, the general nature of the matter and any key deadlines. Add a clear note telling people not to send confidential case details through the form. You want enough to check conflicts, not a case file landing in your inbox.
Form details that matter
- Keep it short. Six to eight fields is plenty.
- Use a clear confirmation message that says when you’ll respond.
- Send submissions to a secure, professional email address, not a personal one.
- Store submissions carefully, and don’t keep them in the website database longer than needed.
One more thing: test the form yourself every month. A broken form on an expert witness website is invisible to you and very visible to the attorney who tried to reach you and heard nothing back. They rarely try twice. We add form checks to every maintenance plan for this reason, because it is the cheapest problem to catch and the most expensive one to miss.
8. Credibility signals that hold up under scrutiny
Credibility on an expert witness website comes from facts, not adjectives. A professional headshot. Real credentials with the issuing body named. Memberships in recognized associations. Relevant field experience described in specific terms. A clear statement of independence: you give opinions based on the evidence, regardless of who retains you.
An expert’s website should read like the testimony they hope to give: calm, specific and impossible to exaggerate.
Testimonials are tricky here. Many attorneys are not comfortable being quoted, and a glowing quote about “winning the case” can look like advocacy. If you do use them, keep them about professionalism and clarity, and get written permission. Often it is cleaner to skip them entirely.
Your LinkedIn has to match your expert witness website
Attorneys will cross check your LinkedIn profile against your site and CV. Titles, dates and credentials should line up. Our LinkedIn profile optimization work for experts focuses heavily on this kind of consistency, and our LinkedIn tips for consultants cover the basics if you want to do it yourself.
9. A professional tone throughout
The tone of an expert witness website should sound like a careful professional, not a salesperson. Write in the first or third person, but pick one and stay with it. Avoid hype words. Avoid absolute claims like “the leading expert in the nation.” Let your record speak.
Design follows the same rule. A calm color palette, readable type, plenty of white space and a strong, simple logo. We often pair a site build with brand identity design so the CV, letterhead, report templates and website all look like they came from the same practice. Attorneys notice that kind of polish, and so do juries when your report is on a screen in court.
10. Speed, mobile, security and privacy
Attorneys check sites between meetings, on phones, in courthouse hallways. A slow or broken expert witness website sends a quiet message about how you handle details. Google’s page experience guidance on web.dev is a good reference for what “fast enough” looks like.
Security and privacy matter even more. Use HTTPS everywhere, keep plugins and themes updated, use strong logins with two factor authentication, and back up regularly. If someone breaks into your site and plants spam, that is not just embarrassing; it hurts trust with exactly the people you need. Our WordPress maintenance services handle this for experts who would rather spend their time on cases.
Add a short privacy policy that explains what the contact form collects and how you use it. Accessibility counts too: the W3C’s WCAG guidelines are the standard to aim for, and they make the site easier for everyone to use.
Expert witness website checklist
| Page or feature | What attorneys want | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Your field and case types in one glance | Slogans instead of specifics |
| CV | Current, dated, downloadable PDF | Out of date or different from the site |
| Areas of expertise | Pages that match their case | One vague list of services |
| Testimony | Honest summary of deposition and trial experience | Inflated or unclear claims |
| Publications | Full list with dates and outlets | Old posts that contradict current opinions |
| Fees | Fee schedule available on request | Published rates that go stale |
| Intake form | Fast conflict check | Asking for confidential details |
| Technical | Fast, secure, mobile friendly | Outdated plugins and no HTTPS |
Frequently asked questions
What pages does an expert witness website need?
At minimum: a clear homepage, a CV page with a downloadable PDF, areas of expertise or case types, testimony experience, publications, and a contact page with a conflict check form. An About page with your background and approach helps too.
Should I publish my fees on my expert witness website?
We recommend against it. State that your fee schedule and engagement terms are available on request, and handle the details directly with retaining counsel.
Can opposing counsel use my website against me?
Yes, anything public can come up. Keep every claim accurate, consistent with your CV and modest in tone. Review older content before publishing it, and ask attorneys you trust to look over anything sensitive.
How long does it take to build an expert witness website?
It depends on how much content you already have. If your CV, publications list and case types are ready, the build moves quickly. Writing and reviewing that content usually takes longer than the design.
Do I need SEO for an expert witness website?
Most experts get work through referrals, but attorneys still search to confirm and to find new names. Clear case type pages and basic SEO make sure you show up when they do.
Build a site that earns the call
A strong expert witness website will not replace your reputation or your referral network. What it does is back them up. When a colleague says “call this person,” the attorney checks you out, finds exactly what they need, and picks up the phone with confidence.
We are a New York web design agency, and we work with consultants and experts across the US. You can see examples on our work page or read more about Design Fly 24. If you want an expert witness website that is clear, credible and built to hold up, book a free call with us and let’s talk through your practice.
