Expert Witness Blog

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

October 15, 2013

How a College Professor Can Become an Expert Witness

Expert witnessing can be an excellent way for professors to supplement their incomes. Best of all, most expert witness work can be performed at off hours and from the professor’s home office.

Expert witnessing can be an excellent way for professors to supplement their incomes. Expert witnesses earn hundreds of dollars per hour for their time (I recently had a marketing professor in my class who billed his time out at $650/hour). Best of all, most expert witness work consists of research, document review, report writing and other activities which can be

April 26, 2013

Qualifying as an Expert Witness: The 4 Biggest Myths

Qualifying as an expert witness is usually quite easy – as long as you restrict your testimony to areas where you possess ample knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.

Expert witness qualifications are governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 702 which states: 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 knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to

April 24, 2013

If I Retire Can I Still Work As An Expert Witness?

We are often asked if retired people can do expert witness work. Expert witnesses in Federal Court are governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which states:

We are often asked if retired people can do expert witness work. The short answer is, yes. Expert witnesses in Federal Court 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

April 16, 2013

Treating Physician Entitled to Expert Witness Fees

Dist. Court, D. Nevada, dealt with the issue of whether the treating orthopedic surgeon, Elkanich, was entitled to an expert witness fee for his deposition.

The US District Court Nevada, in the case of Axelson v. HARTFORD INSURANCE COMPANY OF MIDWEST, Dist. Court, D. Nevada 2013, dealt with the issue of whether the treating orthopedic surgeon, Elkanich, was entitled to an expert witness fee for his deposition. The court found he was, in fact, entitled to an expert witness fee, and stated: This Court agrees

March 28, 2013

Expert Witness Succession Planning

Experts who develop an exit strategy are best positioned to generate a stream of revenue after they reduce their involvement in the practice or retire completely.

Succession Planning: Positioning Your Expert Witness Practice for Reduced Workload, Takeover, or Eventual Sale Steven Babitsky, Esq. Many expert witnesses do not adequately plan for the potential sale of their forensic practices. Here are the 10 Biggest Mistakes Experts Make in Transition/Succession Planning: Mistake #1 Thinking that their skills are so unique they simply cannot be replaced.

March 26, 2013

New Expert Witness Directory Blog from SEAK

SEAK has just launched a new resource designed to provide information and other resources to trial attorneys and expert witness on expert witness related topics.

SEAK has just launched a new resource designed to provide information and other resources to trial attorneys and expert witness on expert witness related topics. Please take a moment to take a look: SEAK Expert Witness Directory Blog

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

March 1, 2013

The Biggest Mistakes Utility Expert Witnesses Make When Testifying in Front of Administrative Agencies

Utility expert witnesses may be perceived as being biased, bought and paid for and constructed to achieve a specific result.

The Biggest Mistakes Utility Expert Witnesses Make When Testifying in Front of Administrative Agencies Utility expert witnesses have many issues to deal with and overcome to achieve successful, persuasive testimony. Their testimony may be perceived as being biased, bought and paid for and constructed to achieve a specific result. The utility expert witnesses who avoid the biggest mistakes often

February 6, 2013

Expert Witnesses’ Self-Inflicted Wounds

Here are just a few examples of some of these self-inflicted wounds that we have come across recently when training expert witnesses:

Expert Witnesses’ Self-Inflicted Wounds By: Steven Babitsky, Esq. Many expert witnesses create problems for themselves with the things they say in their CVs, webpages, and reports. All of these self-created problems are completely avoidable with a little judicious self-editing. Here are just a few examples of some of these self-inflicted wounds that I have come across recently when training expert