Expert Witness Blog
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 how to control costs.
Include expert costs in your budget. Consulting and testifying experts can be significant expenses, and you should ensure from the outset that your budget includes line items for this purpose. In all cases, agreeing early on a scope of tasks and requesting regular updates is the best way to avoid surprises and manage costs. Mid-course changes as well as last minute rushes are costly. If it is not initially clear which tasks are to be completed, hiring consulting experts may help to bring focus to the right topics once the issues are better understood. In large cases wilth significant ramp-up costs, you can minimize the costs associated with document management, learning curves, and coordination among testifying experts by relying on consulting experts for all phases of the engagement, with testifying experts assigned to specific tasks.
Excerpted from the ABA Expert Witness Alert, Summer/Fall 2007