Licensed engineers expert witnesses may write reports and testify on issues involving engineering risk assessments, registered professional engineers, and engineering document responsibility. In Consumer Guide to Professional Engineering and Professional Land Surveying, the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists writes:The (CA) law requires all licensed engineers and land surveyors to use a written contract when providing their professional services. The written contract must include at a minimum the following information:
1. A description of the services to be provided by the licensed engineer or land surveyor;
2. A description of any basis of compensation applicable to the contract and the method of payment agreed upon by the parties (such as a fixed fee cost, an hourly rate charge, or an hourly rate charge with a maximum fee, as well as the method and schedule for billing and payment);
3. The name, address, and license number of the licensed engineer or land surveyor, and the name and address of the client;
4. A description of the procedures to be used to accommodate additional services (for example, requiring all work-order changes to be in writing and initialed by both parties or agreeing that work-order changes made be approved verbally with written follow-up confirmation); and
5. A description of the procedure to be used by either party to terminate the contract.
Read more: http://www.pels.ca.gov/pubs/index.shtml.