Selecting the Right Economic Damages Expert Witness
There are cases in which legal expertise is not enough to assure you of a convincing defense in your arguments. If you expect to have a viable litigation strategy, you need to think of including specialists who can give important economic damages expert witness services. If you never used them before, here is some important information for your consideration.
You will find three types of economic experts you can include in the case. You will find the academicians. Those possess extensive knowledge in the use of specific methodological approaches like assessing the competition. You also have practitioners who have experience working in specific industries for some considerable period. Those are good when you need testimony on standard operating procedures. Then there are those who work with consulting firms and are ready to provide testimonies where they are specialists.
It can be a challenge to land the right expert to testify if you are not certain of where to look. There are, luckily, certain places you can seek information to aid you in pointing out the right person. You can begin by looking in your network and see if there are specialists there who can be of assistance. You can get referrals from other attorneys who have handled similar cases.
Your case may also involve a client who has been in a similar case before. You can, therefore, ask them to dig for their previous contacts and see if you can get the contacts of such a specialist. You only need to make sure you do not rely on experts that have been used exhaustively before by the client, as their credibility tends to fade over time. There is the benefit of making your client feel more involved when you ask them for their referrals.
There is also the internet to help you land the right economic damages expert in your area. You can look for their sites for conference presentations and academic citations. You can also find out which ones judges have cited before. A witness consultancy firm undertakes searches to find professionals who come in handy in such situations.
By this time, you will have several options available before you pick a specific one. You need to look at their experience in offering such testimonies. Ask for the details of all cases they have given their testimonies before, especially the most recent ones. You need to confirm that there is no conflict of interest as per the rules of the prevalent authorities.
You also need to ask them about the payment for their services. Those who work in a consultancy firm are usually on a salary. Those who are independent will charge you directly for their services. You need to also check their backgrounds in fine detail, and move on the minute you come across something unexplainable or out of place.
You need also to make a point of meeting the expert witnesses in person. You need to get a feeling of their disposition and perspective, apart from looking at what they have done, and what they know. It becomes easier to choose an expert then.
