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How to Make the Best Out of Your Economic Expert Witness

Author: Jules Kamin
by Jules Kamin
Posted: Jun 27, 2017

Employing the services of an economic expert witness is not a simple task. If you think it is simple, then you are doing it wrong. First of all, the expert witness reports created by them have a direct bearing on your case. Often, they end up being the most potent item on your side inside the court. That is why it is important that you make the most of your economic expert witness. Here’s a 3-step guide to help you in the process.

Finding the Right Experts

Here’s a spooky fact. Everyone can be an expert by virtue of their training or expertise. When you are hiring them because they have better knowledge of their field than you, how can you differentiate the capable ones from the rest? If you are looking for experts with excellent academic knowledge, then look for financial experts who have published materials in their areas of expertise. You can gauge the authority of the expert on their subject matter by the respect their publications get from their peers. Similarly, when you are looking for experts with vast experience, you have to find professionals with years of experience in relevant fields. Suppose your litigation is in the area of investments, then an I-banker would be the most suitable candidate.

Vetting the Experts

Capable economic experts are hard to come by, and are busy professionals. Once you have shortlisted the economic expert witnesses you wish to hire, check with them whether they are available for court testimonies for the trial dates. Also make sure that they are not working for the opposing party. Enquire with them whether there is any publicly available information on them, such as tweets, blog articles, Facebook posts, videos, or publications, that can be used as fodder against them by your opposing party. Then conduct your own investigation into the perceived nature of these experts by their peers, and their public persona.

Finally, check with them if they have previously worked as an economic expert witness for any clients. If so, get references from them, and the impact of their testimony on the case. Verify their claims. One more thing you have to keep in mind is that the judge and the jury’s opinion of your expert will have a significant effect on the value of their testimony. If they have previously appeared as an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defendants in different cases, then they are perceived to be unbiased and independent in their opinions.

Act Early

Even if the litigation is expected to be brought before the court many months down the line, it is imperative on your part to retain your economic expert witness early on. As a thumb rule, if you feel that there is going to be a litigation in the future, engage your expert right away. This is important because highly qualified and well respected economic expert witnesses are difficult to find. Retaining them early on ensures that they are not available for your opposing party.

your favor or not. Secondly, they will apprise you of the potential exposure in case of unfavorable judgement. In such cases, the defendants can agree upon a settlement to prevent the case from reaching the court.

About the Author

ValuEconomics, Inc. provides expert opinions on damage expert witness, valuation of businesses and other economic and financial issues. for more information visit site http://www.valu-econ.com/

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Author: Jules Kamin

Jules Kamin

Member since: Jun 15, 2017
Published articles: 8

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