Experienced expert witnesses recognize that most of the challenges and programs they face is in fact with retaining and not opposing counsel.
Attorney Steven Babitsky, president of SEAK, Inc. has identified the top 11 abuses that experts need to be aware of.
These include:
- Failure to pay
- Refusal to prepare you
- Refusal to protect you while testifying
- Not being prepared to clear things up on redirect
- Designating you as expert without your permission
- Slow payment of fee
- Not providing all documents
- Not allowing for all necessary testing
- Pushing you beyond your area of expertise
- Tying your “cooperation” to future referrals
- Trying to “steal” the expert’s opinion by subpoenaing the expert as a “fact witness.”
Experts who want to avoid these types of abuses by retaining counsel need to know and understand their legal rights as an expert.
Atty. James Mangraviti will be speaking on “How to Protect Yourself from Potential Abuse by Retaining Counsel” at the SEAK National Expert Witness Conference to be held on May 3-4, 2014 in Orlando, FL.
How to Protect Yourself from Potential Abuse from Retaining Counsel
James J. Mangraviti Jr., Esq.
The vast majority of problems expert witnesses face stem from the expert witness’s relationship with retaining counsel. Indeed, an expert witness is far more likely to suffer from problems caused by retaining counsel than opposing counsel. Attorney Mangraviti will offer his insights on how to differentiate between abuse and the inherent difficulties associated with expert witnessing. Attorney Mangraviti will then offer practical advice for the prevention and/or management of abuses from retaining counsel such as: getting stiffed, deposition fee reduction, unrealistic deadlines, cancellations, Daubert issues, failure to prepare, “wordsmithing” draft reports, sandbagging, being purposefully conflicted out of the case, unethical behavior, being disclosed without being retained, etc.