Business Training. People Meeting In Office.

Membership

Members of The Academy include experts in many professions such as Accounting, Construction, Forensic Science, IT, Engineering, Medicine, Valuation and indeed most areas of expertise which are regularly heard in the Courts.

Membership Grades

Academy practising individual members must go through a rigorous vetting procedure meaning that The Academy’s members are accredited rather than merely checked.

Individual membership is subdivided into three Grades according to knowledge and experience. All Practising Members will be qualified in their own profession or calling. The criteria for individual members can be seen below.

If you are not sure which grade of membership to apply for please complete and return our Pre-Application Questionnaire so we can advise you on your application.

Pre-Application Questionnaire

Accreditation

Members have been rigorously vetted and accredited by The Academy on a number of key criteria including:

Relevant qualifications in their primary profession. The Academy checks that the prospective member does indeed hold the appropriate qualifications for the expert witness work they are undertaking.
Understanding of the role and duties of the expert.
Before The Academy grants Membership as a practising expert it requires references by instructing lawyers and for full membership samples of previous reports.

Accordingly, it is not surprising that Members of The Academy are highly regarded by instructing solicitors and by the Courts for their professionalism and ability.

The Academy provides training programmes and regular seminars to ensure that members are always up-to-date with the latest changes through Continuous Professional Development and peer discussion of common problems.

As a professional body, The Academy has a duty to society and to its members to ensure that its standards are maintained. It does this by enforcing the recognised Code of Practice for experts on its members.

Types of Membership

Whilst the majority of TAE members are Expert Witnesses TAE actually has three types of Membership. They are:

Practising – for Expert Witnesses
Dispute Resolver – for ADR Professionals who are accredited by TAE, for example Mediators, Expert Determiners
‘Other’ – a range of options for users of Experts who want to be involved in the work of TAE

What our members say

Individual membership levels

Associate
Associates are those interested in giving advice or evidence and are training to be an Expert or have not yet gained enough experience to progress to the levels of either Senior Associate or Full Member.

No post-nominal letters are awarded for this grade.
Apply to Join Online
Senior Associate
Senior Associate is available to those who meet the following criteria:
1. Having already obtained adequate relevant practical qualifications they either
  1. do not yet have sufficient relevant practical experience, or
  2. do not yet have sufficient experience of acting as an Expert to qualify for full membership status.
This grade is appropriate for those experts who have been working in a team but may not have been directly instructed as the lead expert.

May use the post nominal letters SAAE.
Apply to Join Online

Member
Member is available to those with:
1. Adequate relevant qualifications. This means qualifications for the areas of intended expertise to be offered;
2. Adequate practical experience; and
3. Solid experience of acting as an Expert Witness but not necessarily having had experience of appearing in the witness box; and
4. Experience of writing and signing expert witness reports in their own name.
Awarded the post nominal letters MAE
Apply to Join Online
Fellow
Fellowship may be conferred on those who are able to demonstrate an appropriate high standard of professional competence in their profession or calling.

Candidates for Fellowship will have wide knowledge and experience as an Expert, Advisor or witness and knowledge of legal procedures and the laws of evidence.

May use the post nominal letters FAE.

TAE members who have been a Full Member for at least two years may apply here for upgrade.

Guidance to applicants

Applications for membership are judged on the basis of an applicant’s experience as an Expert Witness. The Academy recognises that the skills of an expert are separate from those required by an applicant’s primary profession and awards different grades of membership. If you would like advice from TAE on which level of membership would be most appropriate for you beyond that available on this site, please complete the pre-application questionnaire.

Cost of Membership

Membership Subscription

Subscriptions are paid annually and The Academy Membership year runs from 1st March 2024. The membership rates are:

Member	£360
Senior Associate	£327
Associate	£327

Fifty-percent of the subscription fee is subject to VAT where applicable.

New Member Application and renewal

In addition to a non-refundable vetting fee, new applicants pay a reduced first year subscription of £150 which recognises the fact that applicants may join ‘mid-year’. Member benefits are available from the time of application including attending events and training at member rates (many events are free).

The renewal fee does not become due until an applicant has completed the vetting process and any applicant completing the process after 1st December will not be asked to renew their subscription for a further year. For example, an applicant applying to join the Academy in September 2024 and completing the vetting process in December 2024 would be asked to renew their subscription on 1st March 2026.

This ensures that new applicants are not disadvantaged by their month of application.

For further details regarding application fees please see the relevant application form and accompanying guidance notes.