Unlike fact witnesses, experts are allowed to offer opinions on things that are relevant to the case at hand. When offering direct testimony of an expert witness, an attorney should not only consider how they will get the information before…
Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney breaches the requisite standard of care customary to the practice of law. Generally, a legal malpractice claim requires the plaintiff to prove that: The attorney owed a duty of care to the plaintiff The…
In Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the petitioners, the parents of two minor children, sought to sue Merrell Dow on the grounds that their use of a prescription anti-nausea medication, Bendectin, during pregnancy, caused their children’s birth defects. The…
If the court deems an expert’s testimony inadmissible, especially suddenly and in the middle of trial, it can have a disastrous effect on the outcome of the case. However, the governing standards of expert witness admissibility are not uniform throughout…
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure dictate the prerequisites for class actions. Class actions are limited to those cases wherein the following prerequisites have been met: The class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable There are…
How much does your expert witness cost your case? What parts of their assistance are most costly – and which provide the greatest value for the cost? Tracking expert witness expenses can provide a wealth of data about the effectiveness…
When an attorney is working with an expert witness who has not testified before, either in a deposition or at trial, there are a few areas of consideration an attorney should be particularly mindful of. While some of the suggestions…
In many lawsuits, an expert witness is a necessary component. Without an expert providing information on how and why something went wrong, or what the generally accepted standard of care is in their particular realm of expertise, juries may have…
The admissibility of expert testimony can be a game changer during trial. This is particularly true in federal court, which has its own rules and evidentiary standards. In federal court, an expert’s testimony can be challenged on a number of…
The United States legal system is adversarial by design. Zealous representation is part and parcel with advocating on behalf of a client. However, a sense of truth and justice also needs to pervade, lest the system crumbles. As such, certain…