Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses

What Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses does

Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses (ERE) is a non-profit advocacy initiative that operates a free, public pledge campaign aimed at increasing the number of women appointed as expert witnesses in litigation, arbitration, and other dispute resolution forums worldwide. Founded in 2021 as a sister initiative to the long-running Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge (active since 2015), ERE invites individual signatories and organizations — including expert witness providers, law firms, corporates, governments, and arbitral institutions — to commit to specific behavioral changes such as including fair representation of women in candidate lists, proposals, recruitment, and conference panels. The pledge is hosted via a self-serve web platform at expertwitnesspledge.com, where signatories are listed publicly; both individual and organizational signatures are accepted, and organizations can opt to have their logo featured.

The initiative is governed by a Global Steering Committee of over 80 professionals drawn from major consulting firms (AlixPartners, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG-adjacent bodies, Kroll, FTI Consulting, J.S. Held, Berkeley Research Group, HKA, NERA, Secretariat Advisors, Ankura), law firms (Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Paul Hastings, Greenberg Traurig, Baker McKenzie, Arnold & Porter, Dechert, Steptoe & Johnson), arbitral and industry bodies (CIArb, IBA Arbitration Committee, Expert Witness Institute, The Academy of Experts), and independent expert practitioners. The platform is operated by AlixPartners LLP (an England and Wales LLP, registration OC360308, registered office 6 New Street Square, London, EC4A 3BF) on behalf of the Steering Committee. ERE also publishes an annual survey report; the 2024 edition captured 363 respondents across 23 countries (field period 16 April to 15 May 2024), providing benchmarking data on appointment patterns, barriers to female representation, and proposed solutions.

ERE has no commercial pricing model. The website, pledge signing, and research reports are free to all users; there is no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, no investors, and no monetization mechanism in the input data. The organization functions as a coalition-building and benchmarking platform rather than a software product, with growth driven by the time and reputational capital contributed by Steering Committee members and the operating partner rather than by capital deployment.

Name

Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses

Legal name

AlixPartners LLP

Website

https://expertwitnesspledge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses (ERE) is a non-profit pledge initiative that mobilizes individual and organizational signatories to increase the appointment of women as expert witnesses in litigation, arbitration, and other dispute resolution forums worldwide, governed by a 80-plus-member Global Steering Committee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Diversity Advocacy

NAICS

Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services (BPAHALAG)

Keywords

• Expert witness diversity
• Dispute resolution advocacy
• Gender representation pledge
• Arbitration inclusion initiatives
• Professional diversity campaigns

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses (ERE) operates a free online pledge platform that invites individual professionals and organizations involved in dispute resolution to publicly commit to increasing the number of women appointed as expert witnesses in litigation, arbitration, and other ADR proceedings worldwide. The initiative is governed by a global steering committee of 80+ members from leading professional services firms, law firms, and expert witness organizations, and it publishes annual survey reports benchmarking the expert witness landscape and progress toward appointment parity.

Product overview

Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses (ERE) operates a campaign platform centered around its Pledge initiative—a commitment mechanism for legal and dispute resolution professionals to increase women expert witness appointments. The organization also produces annual survey reports tracking progress in the field. The offering is a single unified campaign/advocacy platform with complementary research publications; it does not involve a modular software product or technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ERE Pledge Platform A free, publicly accessible online pledge platform that allows individual professionals and organizations to publicly commit to increasing the number of women appointed as expert witnesses in dispute resolution procedures worldwide. Signatories are listed on a public directory and the initiative also accepts organizational signatures with optional logo placement. Intended for expert witnesses, counsel, arbitrators, judges, corporate and government representatives, and professional organizations involved in dispute resolution.
• ERE Annual Survey Reports Annual research reports analyzing the expert witness landscape, including expert appointments, lawyers' observations, challenges in increasing female representation, and potential solutions to drive change. Distributed as free PDF downloads from the ERE website. The 2024 report captured perspectives from 363 respondents across 23 countries spanning EMEA, North America, and Asia. Intended for dispute resolution practitioners, counsel, expert witnesses, and organizations seeking benchmark data on gender representation in expert appointments.

Quantifiable outcome

• The ERE 2024 Survey captured perspectives from 363 respondents across 23 countries, providing benchmarking data on the expert witness landscape

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge (ERA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ERE Pledge was conceived as a sister pledge to the ERA Pledge, which has been highly effective since its inception in 2015. ERE was developed using the same methodology and approach that successfully increased the proportion of women appointed as arbitrators through the ERA initiative.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EREpledge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equal-representation-for-expert-witnesses

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses