In Utilizing Experts In An Expert Way, Kelli Hinson and Tesa Hinkley describe the crucial role expert witnesses have at trial and give advice on how best to use them. In this excerpt, Hinson and Hinkley give tips on agreeing on an outline and defining the scope of the analysis.
In some cases, a significant initial stumbling block is defining the question or questions you want the experts to address. Choosing the right questions and establishing the scope of the analysis have obvious implications for your budget; they are also relevant to determining how many experts you retain. Experts may be helpful in guiding you on which questions they think they can answer. Expect the outline to change over time, but ensure that the experts do not stray from their area of expertise. While experts should provide the most rigourous analysis of the facts of the case, they should also know when certain matters are better addressed by other witnesses, be they fact witnesses or experts in other areas.
Excerpted from the ABA Expert Witness Alert, Summer/Fall 2007