subject: Do Attorneys Need Experts With My Experience? [print this page] Do Attorneys Need Experts With My Experience?
The need for expert witnesses spans subjects from A to Z. Lawyers use experts in litigation from medical malpractice to engineering to accounting to the ubiquitous field of computing. Internet resources list over 500 classifications and thousands of subcategories, ranging from abuse to zoning; your specialty probably falls somewhere in the list.
You must bring to the table pre-existing expertise that includes detailed expertise in your subject. You may have already published books, articles, or journal treatises. You may already consult independently, or you may work for a company as a specialist. If you also bring the skill of communication, you can help the litigants reach an out-of-court settlement. The basic question about your qualifications remains: Can you legitimately present yourself to attorneys as a possible expert witness?
Attorneys know the law but rarely will they know your specialty area. Since they cannot testify even if they do know the field, they have to engage experts like you. Additionally, lawyers do not have the time to do the research and analysis to obtain the technical nitty-gritty about the case, so they employ you to spend your time doing that. You know how to do the research and the follow-on analyses. When litigants dispute the same evidence, and either side might win the case, then you can testify about the results.
The expert witness must present the evidence in the best possible light. At the same time, you may have your own doubts about the strength of the evidence, and you may see the reasonableness of the other side's evidence. sometimes, you will realize that the person whose side has selected you may have committed the alleged crime.
You must present and describe the helpful evidence as well as possible and leave the so-called harmful evidence to the other expert. It is up to other side's experts to present the harmful facts as best as they can. You can contribute to each case by providing your attorney with analyses of the facts, no matter whether your findings seem helpful or not. Let the attorney decide for his client whether to proceed with the case or attempt to settle for a better possible result.
The majority of legal disputes never reach the stage of a trial. Once everyone discovers the facts, the experts complete the technical analyses, and the lawyers take the depositions, the outcome often becomes evident. The parties can use your work as a specialist as the basis for an eventual settlement. sometimes, attorneys will engage you as a specialist to provide them with these analyses before they even file a lawsuit. Your objective interpretation of the information can sometimes convince the attorney against filing the lawsuit. In the same fashion, even after filing a lawsuit, plaintiffs may drop a case if a specialist's analysis shows that they will lose. When a specialist for the defense shows why their side will lose, that is when talks for the best settlement or plea bargain begin.
As a plaintiff's expert, you may find data that sustains the allegations. As a defendant's or plaintiff's expert, you may find 'exculpatory' evidence that helps to reduce or negate the charges. The defense can use this additional data to support arguments in court against conviction. Your data may not lead directly to a verdict in favor of your side, but it may lead to a better settlement.
