subject: Another Set of My Favored Tactics Used by Experts in Depositions and Trials [print this page] Another Set of My Favored Tactics Used by Experts in Depositions and Trials
You can trade your expertise in your specialty into this rewarding new arena.
But there are dangers to look out for, obstacles to surmount, and a substantial amount
of new information to master.
Here are some of my favorite tactical considerations to succeed as an expert witness:
* Answer questions in simple terms. Yes or No is excellent, whenever possible.
* Stop as soon as you answer the question that was asked. Then just wait for another question.
* Realizing the great importance of the Daubert Supreme Court case and the implications on your
performance as an expert will improve the likelihood that lawyers will employ
you and that your resulting testimony will be legally acceptable.
* Remember that you do not have to have absolute conclusions.
You only must express your best opinion, based on the most likely scenario,
and to a reasonable degree of either scientific or medical certainty.
* People understand that not even an expert knows everything.
What you do know, you should answer confidently. What you do not knowshould be admitted readily.
* When you attempt to answer a list-related question, end your list with:
"that's all I can recall at this moment."
This permits you to bring up additional items for the list during later testimony.
* You can help in each case by providing your attorney thorough analyses of the facts,
regardless of whether your findings are helpful or not to the side that retained you.
* Never say 'never' in your testimony.
* If you are the expert for the plaintiff, be sure to cover all possibilities.
Be prepared to justify why you may have chosen one or only a subset of the possibilities
as the basis for your testimony.
* If you are an expert for the defense, you should list
other possibilities that the expert for the plaintiff's should have considered, and why.
* Listen. Listen. Listen ... to precisely what an attorney asks you.
If you missed hearing the question fully, or if you didn't understand the question completely,
how can you possibly respond to it correctly?
These are only a few tips for an expert hired as an expert witness, and have been excerpted from Expert Witness Training by Judd Robbins.
Visit http://www.expert-witnesses.net to learn more about each of these tactics, learn other expert witness advice,
and get a jump start on your competitors by finding out how to earn additional money as an expert witness in your specialty area.
