by

Internet expert witnesses may consult on social media, internet browsers, internet security, and related matters. In the news, Google Inc. will pay $7M to 38 states over its collection of personal data from 2008 to May 2010. Google Street View cars drove down public streets and gathered WiFi network information for their geolocation services. Google Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kent Walker signed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance on March 8, 2013.

Read document: http://hawaii.gov/dcca/ocp/news-releases/Assurance%20AVC%20Google.pdf

by

In The Expert Witness: Selecting and Managing A Vital Resource, attorney Dennis Wall, Insurance Claims and Issues Group, Inc., writes on managing expert witnesses. In the article he discusses the “gatekeeper” model for the admission of expert opinion testimony as well as admissible testimony. Mr. Wall is the author of Litigation and Prevention of Insurer Bad Faith and co-author of CAT Claims: Insurance Coverage for Natural and Man-Made Disasters.

Read more: http://www.propertycasualty360.com

by

Engineering expert witness Richard Heenan testified last week before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier that British Petroleum and Transocean Ltd. officials mishandles safety tests on the Deepwater Horizon. Pressure tests were misread before the rig exploded and killed eleven people. Heenan is with Canadian Engineering Petroleum, Inc., and has supervised projects both onshore and offshore.

Bloomberg reports more: www.bloomberg.com.

by

Software expert witnesses may opine on application software, business software, computer software, and associated matters. In the news, the LA Times reports that European Union antitrust officials fined Microsoft Corp. $731M for failing give a browser choice in Windows. Microsoft had agreed to include a browser selection in Windows 7 but did not for 14 months starting in February 2011 with Windows 7 Service pack 1. Microsoft reported the option was still there and sited technical errors.

by

Geology expert witness Andrew Hurst testified that British Petroleum drilled the Deepwater Horizon well in an area weakened by a 2006 earthquake. The expert described the ocean floor as likely weakened by the earthquake and says there is evidence BP knew about the earthquake at the start of drilling. Professor Hurst is Chair of Production Geoscience, University of Aberdeen. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier will decide if BP acted with gross negligence.

More info: http://news.yahoo.com/expert-bp-drilled-area-hit-220714979.html;_ylt=AwrNUbDDSzZRuRUAcazQtDMD.

by

Legal nurse consultant expert witnesses may testify on palliative care, forensic nursing, medical record review, and legal nurse certification, as well as related issues. In 5 ways Legal Nurse Consultants Assist with Medical Mass Torts, Mednick Associates writes:

2) Defense assistance: LNCs act as a siphoning agent for defense attorneys. As they review the records they are able to answer specific questions the defense may present, thus making an argument to dismiss a potential plaintiff. For example, they may scan the records to determine if the plaintiff is a smoker or obese, factors that may exclude them or provide an argument for their dismissal.

3) Plaintiff assistance: For the prosecution, the LNC performs a vital function of reviewing the records for specific patterns or ailments that may result from a particular drug, medical device or treatment. These trends are what increase the population of plaintiffs, thus making the case stronger, more difficult to refute and easier to obtain a medical expert witness.

Continue reading

by

In DUE DILIGENCE: SECURITIES APPLICATIONS AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, 2011, securities expert witness Douglas J. Schulz writes:

DEFINITIONS What are the accepted or appropriate definitions of the term “due diligence”? As in almost all regulatory or litigation situations, it depends on which side of the fence you are on. If you are on the defense side and you are being accused by either a regulator or an investor/claimant that you failed to perform proper due diligence, your definition may be amorphous and narrow. You might claim the term is synonymous with such words as inquiry, investigation, research or review. On the other hand, if you are the investor/claimant, your definition will be more encompassing and will include such words as systematic, methodical, meticulous, scrupulous, detailed, and comprehensive.

Mr. Schulz has been in the securities business professionally for 33 years and has been hired over 1,100 times as a securities expert.

Continue reading

by

Petroleum engineering expert witness Robert Bea testified Thursday in the British Petroleum oil spill trial. The UC Berkeley engineering professor says BP failed to follow safety precautions which resulted in the death of eleven workers and a massive oil spill. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Carl Joseph Barbier is presiding.

Read more: http://www.local15tv.com/default.aspx.

by

Internet For Lawyers is presenting Investigative Internet Research for the Legal Professional at the Real Estate Institute on Tuesday Apr 2, 2013, UBS Tower, One North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL. Learn how to:

Power Your Practice with Free & Low Cost Research (Fastcase and Google Scholar) & Google “Cloud” Apps for Business More info: http://www.netforlawyers.com/page/live-mcle

Since 1999, Internet For Lawyers has provided law firms, corporations, and local and state Bar Associations around the country with professional and entertaining turn-key CLE programs. The company focuses on delivering information about free investigative and background research resources available on the Internet.

by

Dr. Monique Busch, PhD, ACSW, LCSW, of Performance Solutions Unlimited, LLC, writes on what it takes to consult as a child welfare expert witness.

Being an expert witness is so often more about being an expert consultant as matters are less likely to go to trial and more likely to settle or to be mediated. I have found as an expert in child welfare matters that some of the more helpful information that I have to contribute has to do with understanding day-to-day operations of the industry, functions of key players, checks and balances in the system, and the federal, as well as state laws that make state public child welfare agencies more alike than different.

Child welfare matters involve a great number of different professionals: public child welfare agency personnel; legal – juvenile courts, family courts, guardian ad litem, court appointed special advocate (CASA), attorneys, law enforcement; medical; mental health; and familial. I believe that being passionate about the subject matter in which one is an expert is important. These matters pull on the heart strings, and it is critically important to keep the child(ren) in the matter as the focal point.

Continue reading