Arbitration, along with other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), is now used in a wide range of civil legal disputes. To many attorneys, one benefit of arbitration is that the evidentiary rules and discovery requirements of arbitration are less…
A subpoena duces tecum is a subpoena for tangible objects. This may cover records, notes, a document tracking hours, or an actual item of potential evidence, such as a defective electric knife.
A “hired gun” refers to the sort of expert witness who is willing to offer and, if necessary, testify, to whatever expert opinion that advances the hiring attorney’s case theory. If your intention is to avoid inadvertently retaining a hired…
There are several expert witness referral companies stationed throughout the United States, each with different approaches to sourcing subject matter expertise for legal clients. When seeking an expert witness, connecting with one of these referral companies, like The Expert Institute,…
While engagement letters are thought to be less formal than a more contractual-looking retainer agreement, both documents share the same purpose: to outline the scope of the relationship with the expert. Becuase each expert-attorney relationship is unique, the specific…
When neither side actually retains a named expert, the courts rarely require non-retained witnesses to testify. However, it can happen in certain, rare circumstances.  When the issue does present itself, the Rules of Civil Procedure, along with caselaw,…
Judges and juries expect a certain level of bias in lay witnesses, who often have personal connections to one of the parties in the case. Yet judges and juries also expect that expert witnesses should, and will, be unbiased. Expert…
Depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the case, the methods employed for the discovery of expert witnesses may include interrogatories, depositions, informal meetings, phone calls, or email exchanges. But before you get to discovery, you must determine whether…
The credibility of an expert witness often relies on the belief that experts are, in a sense, neutral – even when they testify on behalf of one side or the other. Because experts are both evaluated on their approach to…
Most studies on medical malpractice claims in the United States do not specifically isolate instances of patient abandonment, so there is little concrete data on this phenomenon. A study conducted on the rates of medical malpractice lawsuits in the United…