In Optimizing Your Use of Banking and Financial Institution Experts, banking expert witness Michael F. Richards writes:
Early Involvement In The Case There are a number of reasons why it is important to get an expert involved early in the case. As indicated above, there are numerous regulations, policies, and procedures that are required in banking. It happens far too often that I receive a call and the attorney says, “I have to designate an expert by a certain date” which is only a couple of weeks away or less. As we get into the discussion and I start asking about discovery and specific documents, we find that discovery did not cover all of the documents needed to evaluate the case and the deadline has passed to request the additional information. This is most prevalent when I represent clients against banks. I can understand the attorneys reasoning for waiting as long as possible to retain an expert, hoping the case will settle and save the cost of an expert, but if the case doesn’t settle, is it worth it? A good expert can tell you exactly where to look and what to ask for. Early involvement can help attorneys considerably in formulation of a complaint, discovery, counterclaim, or response to interrogatories. In cases I have been involved in, attorneys have amended their complaint to address items that were found, that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.