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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Expert Witnesses’ Curriculum Vitae By: Steven Babitsky, Esq. An expert witness who has a sloppy curriculum vitae (CV) containing incorrect information is inviting questioning by opposing counsel. This questioning will likely be embarrassing and can damage the credibility of the expert witness. Here is an example from a demonstration at a recent SEAK expert witness [...]
Financial Expert Witnesses By: Steven Babitsky, Esq. Any expert witness who deals with numbers, valuations, discounts, etc. must be able to clearly and articulately explain where the numbers come from. Many of these experts are, in fact, unable to do so while under stress during their deposition. Here is an example that arose during an [...]
Expert Witness Reports By: Steven Babitsky, Esq. Expert witnesses are getting more and more “help” from retaining counsel in phrasing and writing their reports. Counsel will often include legal terms or phrases in the expert’s report to make sure it is legally sufficient and can withstand scrutiny. The problem for expert witnesses arises when they [...]
Expert Witness Bias By: Steven Babitsky, Esq. When expert witnesses use inflammatory language in their report or testimony, they run the risk of losing their impartiality and being accused of being biased. Each time the jury or fact finder hears one of these words they may wonder how emotionally involved the expert is in the [...]
25 TIPS FOR EXPERT WITNESSES By: Steven Babitsky, Esq. Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and former trial attorney Dennis J. Curran speaking at the SEAK National Expert Witness Conference presented 25 practical and important tips for the expert witness. The primary and most fundamental advice is to TELL THE TRUTH. This sounds easy, but it is [...]
Tips on how to be an Effective Expert Witness By: Steven Babitsky, Esq. Judge Gregory P. Holder of the Florida 13th Judicial Circuit speaking at the SEAK National Expert Witness Conference presented some tips on how to be an effective expert witness. Here is what he said about direct examination: Preparation and organization You are [...]