Expert Witness Blog

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

February 20, 2020

Casting Doubt on Psychological Expert’s Competence and Methodology

Steven Babitsky, Esq. How do trial attorneys attack psychologists and psychiatrists during cross-examination? They are being trained to concentrate on the expert’s competence and methodology. Attorney Renee Welze Livingston writes in the January 2020 issue of For the Defense: How Methodical Investigation Can Cast Doubt on a Psychological Expert’s Competence and Methodology. This revealing article makes many recommendations, including: Thoroughly

January 31, 2020

Expert Fee Arrangements Must be Disclosed

The U.S, District court S.D. Florida dealt with the issue of whether fee arrangements between an expert witness and counsel must be disclosed during discovery. The expert was a loss consultant and was provided with a 10% prelitigation fee for his services. The court ordered the production of the agreement and stated: First, the Court finds that the agreement at

January 28, 2020

The Biggest Mistakes Lawyers Make in Preparing Their Expert Witness for Deposition

Steven Babitsky, Esq. Introduction Many cases rise and fall based on how your expert witness does at their deposition. Here are some of the biggest mistakes lawyers make when preparing their expert witness. Failure to Ask the Expert Witness What They Are Concerned About Most expert witnesses, even the most experienced ones, have issues that they are worried about coming

January 27, 2020

Daubert: Mechanical Engineer on Fire

The Nebraska Supreme Court dealt with a fire that broke out in the basement of a pub in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. A chiropractic group alleged that the negligent maintenance of equipment located in the basement of the pub caused the fire. The plaintiff offered the testimony of Duane Wolf, a mechanical engineer, with a background in fire and explosions investigations. The

December 24, 2019

How Expert Witnesses Can Improve Their Deposition Testimony

Steven Babitsky, Esq. One of the keys to success for an expert witness is the ability to excel when testifying at their depositions. There are many ways experts can improve their deposition testimony: Read books on the subject.[1] Attend training specifically dealing with delivering excellent deposition testimony.[2] Learn from experience at their depositions. Have Your Deposition Transcript Critiqued One of

December 2, 2019

The Pyramid Problem at Forensic Accounting Firms

Nadine Nasser Donovan, Esq. Steven Babitsky, Esq. What is the pyramid problem? Many forensic accounting firms whose employees act as expert witnesses suffer from a serious “pyramid problem.” This is a term we at SEAK Inc. use to describe a company which has many accountants performing expert witness work, yet just a select few at the top of the

October 9, 2019

The Biggest Mistakes Expert Witnesses Make During Their Direct Testimony

By Steven Babitsky Esq. The direct testimony of an expert witness is often more important than cross examination. During direct testimony, the expert has the only opportunity to tell their story in an organized, chronological, and thoughtful way. Here are 17 mistakes experts often make during their direct testimony with the ways to avoid them. 1. Mistake: Not connecting the

September 27, 2019

Studying Opposing Counsel: Preparing for Your Expert Deposition

Expert witnesses who are to be deposed in challenging cases should consider studying the style of opposing counsel. Expert witnesses of all disciplines, from accident reconstruction to wound care should go beyond looking at counsel’s webpage and maybe a few of her publications. Expert witnesses, with the assistance of retaining counsel, should obtain deposition transcripts/videos of opposing counsel deposing experts

September 13, 2019

The Most Important Question: Preparing Your Expert Witness for Deposition

Steven Babitsky, Esq. Attorneys who are preparing their expert witness for deposition frequently start with the key aspects of the expert’s anticipated testimony (e.g. opinions, methodologies, etc.). One often overlooked key question is: What are you most concerned about? All expert witnesses, including experienced ones, come to their deposition with concerns, fears, anxieties, etc. These should be dealt with before

August 26, 2019

THE DANGERS OF LAST-MINUTE EXPERT WITNESS ASSIGNMENTS

By: Jessica Mahon Scoles, Esq. Counsel calls and tells an expert he has an interesting and potentially lucrative case. The catch? The expert needs to be designated almost immediately and her affidavit or report is due soon after. If the expert chooses to accept the case, she is faced with a series of difficult, if not impossible challenges. These may