Five Tips For Retention Of Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses can play a major role in litigation, but there are pitfalls in retaining them, and in a worst case the strategy can backfire. Alston & Bird attorneys Meaghan Boyd and Geoff Rathgeber offer five tips for ensuring that the expert’s task, and your expectations, are known and understood at the outset of the engagement. Tip number one is to interview the candidate in person and ascertain whether there is a good fit in terms of the crucial “ABCDs”: appearance; bias; credentials; and demeanor. That interview is also the time to find the answer to some hard questions – e.g., have your opinions on similar topics been challenged, and if so what was the outcome? Have you given testimony in a case with similar facts that might contradict the theme of this case? Even if this candidate has performed well for you previously, in this preliminary interview it is important to revisit basic questions with regard to the particular requirements of the current case.