Expert Witness Blog

Practical guidance for expert witnesses — testimony, report writing, depositions, fees and building a successful practice.

March 26, 2013

SEAK Expert Witness Training to Be Offered on Cape Cod – September, 2013

How to be an Effective Expert Witness - Attendees will learn how to become markedly more effective and significantly more valuable expert witnesses.

SEAK has announced that its highly acclaimed interactive training program, How to Be an Effective Expert Witness, will be offered on Thursday and Friday September 19-20, 2013 at the Sea Crest Beach Hotel in Falmouth, MA. How to Be an Effective Expert Witness is a small group, hands-on, fast-moving interactive workshop covering deposition, direct examination, and cross-examination skills. Attendees

March 25, 2013

How to Start, Build, and Run a Forensic Engineering Practice

SEAK’s Jim Mangraviti had the pleasure of teaching How to Start, Build, and Run a Forensic Engineering Practice for the American Society of Civil Engineers

SEAK’s Jim Mangraviti had the pleasure of teaching How to Start, Build, and Run a Forensic Engineering Practice for the American Society of Civil Engineers on March 21-22, 2013 in Oak Brook, IL. Jim has been teaching continuing education courses for ASCE since 2000. In this fast moving interactive seminar, a group of experienced civil engineers learned how to get

January 9, 2013

Expert Opinion

To get a sense of the diverse range of expert opinions being offered, you can browse the expert witness specialties and profiles in SEAK’s National Expert Witness Directory

Expert Opinion Normally, witnesses in a trial are limited to testifying to what they have perceived. That is, what they saw, smelled, tasted, heard, etc. An expert witness is a special kind of witness. An expert witness can offer an expert opinion when testifying. Expert witness testimony is governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which states: Rule 702. Testimony

January 9, 2013

Expert Witness Qualifications – Who is Qualified to be an Expert Witness

Many expert witnesses have no advanced degree and there are even a good number of expert witnesses who have no college degrees (think Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny).

Expert Witness Qualifications The qualifications required of an expert witness are governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which states: Rule 702. Testimony by Expert Witnesses A witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if: (a) the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized

January 9, 2013

Expert Witness Preparation

Proper expert witness preparation is critical and is your job as retaining counsel. We recommend the following protocol for preparing an expert witness for a deposition:

Expert Witness Preparation for Depositions Attorneys should understand how to prepare an expert witness for deposition. Proper expert witness preparation is critical and is your job as retaining counsel. We recommend the following protocol for preparing an expert witness for a deposition: Obtain past deposition transcripts of your expert witness and opposing counsel. Schedule the deposition for a favorable time

December 18, 2012

Expert Witness Liability

The law on expert witness liability is somewhat sparse and varies from state to state, but the expert should note the following four general guidelines...

What is the legal liability of an expert witness The law generally affords certain immunities to an expert witness from civil liability stemming from testimony or communications made in the course of litigation. The law on this subject is somewhat sparse and varies from state to state, but the expert witness should note the following four general guidelines. Expert witnesses

December 13, 2012

The Ideal Expert Witness Report Format

Expert witnesses should strive to write the best expert witness report possible. A solid report will immensely help the expert witness’s brand.

There is no such thing as a one-size fits all, ideal expert witness report format. Every case is different and every expert witness is different. Indeed, in many cases, retaining counsel may not even want their expert witness to write a report at all. That said, below is a sample expert witness report example outline: Cover Page Assignment Qualifications of

December 7, 2012

What Should be Included in an Expert Witness Retainer Agreement

What many expert witness contracts fail to cover are the rights and responsibilities of the expert witness and the attorney who is hiring them. Such a failure leads to many avoidable problems.

What Should be Included in an Expert Witness Retainer Agreement All expert witnesses should have a well-drafted expert witness retainer agreement before providing expert witness services. The expert witness retainer agreement is a contract between the attorney that is retaining the expert and the expert witness. The well drafted expert witness contract should of course cover issues such as the

December 7, 2012

How to Draft Your First Expert Witness Report

One of the key functions of an expert witness is to draft an expert witness report. A typical expert witness report should contain...

How to Draft Your First Expert Witness Report One of the key functions of an expert witness is to draft an expert witness report. There is generally no strict requirement for a particular expert witness report format. A typical expert witness report example may contain: 1. The expert witness assignment (i.e. the role of an expert witness in the case

November 26, 2012

Book Review: How to Prepare Your Expert Witness for Deposition

A practical, detailed and informative guide for attorneys to help their experts prepare for and maximize performance at depositions.

Book Review: How to Prepare Your Expert Witness for Deposition James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq. and Steven Babitsky, Esq., SEAK, Inc. 2012, 359 pp. Book Review by Michael D. Pakter As medicine, technology, finance and industry have become more complex, taking in 21st century thinking and advances, the use of experts in litigation has become more common and important. Because