One-Third of Expert Witnesses Now Use AI in Court Cases, New ExpertPages® Survey Finds — Rates Still Topping $700/Hour

SAUSALITO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Artificial intelligence has quietly entered the courtroom pipeline: 35% of expert witnesses and litigation consultants now use generative AI tools in their work, according to the newly released 2026 Expert Witness Fees & Practices Comprehensive Report from ExpertPages^®, the Internet's original directory of expert witnesses. Most experts adopted AI within just the past year, and nearly four in five say it's already making them more productive.

The report, based on confidential responses from more than 425 experts across North America, is the deep-dive companion to ExpertPages' Top Line Report released in June. Alongside the AI findings, it shows average expert witness hourly rates climbing to $465 — with Securities & Investment experts topping the field at $725 per hour.

“AI is moving into the expert witness world faster than almost anyone expected two years ago,” said Gerry H. Goldsholle, Founder and CEO of Advice Company, ExpertPages' parent. “These are highly credentialed professionals whose credibility is their whole business — and a third of them are already using AI tools, mainly for research, with real concern about accuracy but real confidence the technology is here to stay.”

Key AI Findings

● Adoption is new and fast: 35% of experts use generative AI tools, with 24 percentage points of that adoption happening in just the past year.
● Research is the leading use case: Nearly one-third (32%) of AI-using experts use it for research and literature review; 14% for drafting or editing their own reports, and 12% for reviewing opposing experts' reports.
● It's already paying off: 78% of AI users report at least some gain in efficiency or productivity, with 31% saying the gain has been significant.
● Hallucinations are a real worry — but a managed one: 81% of AI-using experts express some concern about AI “hallucinations” or inaccuracies, yet 57% say they already have a process in place to catch and correct errors.
● Confidence in AI's future role is high: Asked to rate their confidence that AI will play a growing role in expert witness work on a 1–10 scale, all responding experts gave an average score of 6.8 and a median of 7.3.

Fees Still Vary Widely by Field

Beyond AI, the report finds that field of expertise remains the strongest predictor of what an expert charges. Securities & Investment experts lead all fields at $725 per hour, followed by AI/Artificial Intelligence experts themselves at $597 and Physicians at $588 — while Auto, Aviation, Boat & Rail ($387) and Documents & Handwriting ($340) trail the market. Notably, AI expertise has already become one of the highest-paid specialties an expert witness can offer.

Availability

The 2026 Expert Witness Fees & Practices Comprehensive Report is available exclusively to Members and Journalists. The Top Line Report is available for free download at https://www.expertpages.com/get_fee_survey.

About the Survey

The ExpertPages^® Survey of Expert Witness Fees & Practices has tracked expert witness trends on a biennial basis since 2008. The 2026 survey was conducted from January 8 through April 15, 2026 by DeBow Communications Ltd., a New York-based independent market research firm, and reflects confidential responses from more than 425 experts across numerous disciplines throughout North America. At the 95% confidence level, the margin of error is +/- 4.9 percentage points overall.

About ExpertPages^®

Online since 1995, ExpertPages^® is the original and premier online directory of expert witnesses and litigation consultants, connecting attorneys, law firms, insurers, and government agencies with highly credentialed experts across North America.

Tom DeBow
debow communications, ltd.
+1 917-270-2020