In Deposing an Expert Witness, litigator Daniel P. Dain writes:
Goals and Strategies
The deposition of an expert witness is the culmination of the opposing party’s defense or prosecution theory of the case. Before taking an expert’s deposition, the parties should have completed fact discovery-interrogatories answered, documents obtained, lay witnesses deposed. Presumably, your opponent’s expert witness has been advising the opposing attorney about documents to be requested in the course of written discovery and about oral discovery questions that should be asked of the lay witnesses, so that the fact evidence necessary to the expert’s opinions has been established. The expert’s opinions are being offered by the opposing party as part of a plan to defeat your case. Deposing your opponent’s expert witness is your opportunity to understand, limit and hopefully stop defeat. The importance of being prepared to depose this expert witness cannot be overemphasized.
Excerpted from How to Prepare for, Take and Use a Deposition.
Mr. Dain is a founder and the Managing Partner of Brennan, Dain, Le Ray, Wiest, Torpy & Garner in Boston, MA.