Medical malpractice expert witnesses may consult on issues involving medical negligence, healthcare providers malpractice, and medical malpractice litigation. In the news, Dr. Kermit Gosnell has been found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder. The Philadelphia abortion provider who is not a board-certified obstetrician or gynecologist, was found guilty of 21 counts of abortion of the unborn.
Patent protection expert witnesses may consult on assignees,
patent infringement, inventions patents, and related matters. In Bowman v. Monsanto, the US Supreme Court ruled today that Indiana farmer Vernon Hugh Bowman violated Monsanto's patent on a genetically modified soybean. Bowman reused Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans seeds without paying the company.
Slip opinion found here
White collar crime expert witnesses may give opinions regarding business crimes, insider trading, and fraud. Reuters reports that KPMG has resigned as auditor of Herbalife Ltd. and Skechers USA Inc. with an FBI insider trading investigation underway. Los Angeles KPMG senior partner Scott London admitted to the leaks and has left the firm.
Oil and gas expert witnesses may provide reports and opine regarding pipelines, pipeline ruptures, oil and gas pumps, and more. In the news, Exxon Mobil will pay for the cleanup near Little Rock, Arkansas after a pipeline burst last week resulting in 22 homes being evacuated. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will examine the site before operations may resume on the pipeline carrying crude oil from Patoka, IL, to Nederland, TX. The pipeline was built between 1947 and 1948. Arkansas AG Dustin McDaniel is investigating having the Pegasus pipeline moved outside the area that drains into a drinking water source.
See ABC video: http://abcnews.go.com/US/exxon-mobil-pay-arkansas-oil-spill/story?id=18873237#.UWB2F8VXqVo
Criminal law experts may consult on criminal law procedure, the criminal justice process, and grand juries, as well as related issues. PRWeb reports that American University Professor Jon Gould has completed a three year empirical study on predicting wrongful convictions. Dr. Gould is Director of the Washington Institute for Public and International Affairs Research as well as Principal Investigator, Preventing Wrongful Convictions Project Affiliate Professor, Washington College of Law. The study identifies ten factors in wrong convictions.
Read more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/3/prweb10513834.htm.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier released Cameron International Corporation as a defendant in the first phase of the trial to identify responsibility in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Cameron produced the blowout preventer used on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and Judge Barbier found no negligence on their part. Cameron is a global provider of pressure control, processing, flow control and compression systems for the oil and gas industries.
Remaining defendants in the case include British Petroleum PLC, rig owner Transocean Ltd., and cement contractor Halliburton.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/
In W.D. Penn. Court reduces “Petition for Reasonable Attorneys Fees,” legal fees expert witness James King writes:
W.D. Penn. Court reduces “Petition for Reasonable Attorneys Fees” to make requested hourly rates consistent with prevailing market rates for routine discovery disputes, rather than “overall trial victories.”In Sandvik Intellectual Prop. AB v. Kennametal Inc., 02:10-CV-000654, 2013 WL 141193 (W.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2013), the prevailing party in a discovery suit sought reimbursement for 264.20 hours which resulted in counsel fees of $98,384.01 for time expended by its attorneys as a direct result of Sandvik's lengthy pattern of discovery delay, obfuscation, and misconduct. The District Court granted the petition for fees, but reduced it by 20% on the basis that the fee request cited prevailing market rates for attorneys performing “trial” litigation work as opposed to “discovery” litigation work. In support of its fee request, the Pittsburgh law firm Kilpatrick Townsend submitted to the court the published rates of Pittsburgh firms Reed Smith and K & L Gates. The Court reached its result as follows:
While the Court is fully cognizant of the vast experience and expertise of the Kilpatrick Townsend firm in the area of intellectual property, the Court cannot justify the rates advanced by Kilpatrick Townsend for this discovery dispute irrespective of its comparison to the published rates of Reed Smith and K & L Gates. Therefore, the Court will reduce the hourly rates sought by Kennametal across the board by twenty percent (20%), which the Court finds to be reasonable and fair and much more in line within the general billing rates of the Pittsburgh legal community for a discovery dispute.Sandvik Intellectual Prop. AB v. Kennametal Inc., supra, at *6.
License agreement expert witnesses may consult on patent infringement, patentability requirements, license agreement terms and associated matters. Michelle L. Briggs and Charles Krukiel discuss technology license agreements including license grants, license term, and rights to improvements in an article for the Association of Corporate Counsel. They caution that every technology license agreement is unique. "There is really no such thing as a 'standard' clause."
Read more: http://www.lexology.com/library/.
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
In Amendment to contingency fee contract expanding scope of work and scope of compensation held enforceable, legal fees expert witness James King writes:
In Rowe v. Law Offices of Ben C. Brodhead, PC., 735 S.E.2d 39 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012), a Georgia state appellate court upheld a jury verdict awarding a law firm $160,000 pursuant to an amendment to its contingent fee contract with its client. The amendment expanded its work to additional matters beyond that originally contemplated by the parties.
In W.D. Penn. Court reduces “Petition for Reasonable Attorneys Fees” to make requested hourly rates consistent with prevailing market rates for routine discovery disputes, rather than “overall trial victories.”, legal fees expert witness James King writes:
In Sandvik Intellectual Prop. AB v. Kennametal Inc., 02:10-CV-000654, 2013 WL 141193 (W.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2013), the prevailing party in a discovery suit sought reimbursement for 264.20 hours which resulted in counsel fees of $98,384.01 for time expended by its attorneys as a direct result of Sandvik's lengthy pattern of discovery delay, obfuscation, and misconduct. The District Court granted the petition for fees, but reduced it by 20% on the basis that the fee request cited prevailing market rates for attorneys performing “trial” litigation work as opposed to “discovery” litigation work. In support of its fee request, the Pittsburgh law firm Kilpatrick Townsend submitted to the court the published rates of Pittsburgh firms Reed Smith and K & L Gates. The Court reached its result as follows:While the Court is fully cognizant of the vast experience and expertise of the Kilpatrick Townsend firm in the area of intellectual property, the Court cannot justify the rates advanced by Kilpatrick Townsend for this discovery dispute irrespective of its comparison to the published rates of Reed Smith and K & L Gates. Therefore, the Court will reduce the hourly rates sought by Kennametal across the board by twenty percent (20%), which the Court finds to be reasonable and fair and much more in line within the general billing rates of the Pittsburgh legal community for a discovery dispute.
Sandvik Intellectual Prop. AB v. Kennametal Inc., supra, at *6.
Pesticide pollution expert witnesses may write reports and testify regarding pesticide contamination, pesticide products, and pesticide regulations. In December, the public health and environmental non-profit, Toxics Action Center, released a report surveying pesticide use on public school grounds across the state of Maine. The report, “A Call for Safer School Grounds: A Survey of Pesticide Use on K-12 Public School Grounds in Maine,” is based on a survey of 209 Maine public schools and shows that 51% of schools surveyed spray pesticides, many of which have been linked to human health impacts, including kidney disease and links to non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The report finds that the state’s Integrated Pest Management Policy (IPM) is inadequate in regulating pesticide application and informing the public on pesticide practices.
Aviation expert witnesses may write reports and opine on aerospace engineering, aircraft design, and aircraft operations. After electrical problems on the Boeing 787, the FAA press release of 1/11/13 states:
In light of a series of recent events, the FAA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly. The purpose of the review is to validate the work conducted during the certification process and further ensure that the aircraft meets the FAA’s high level of safety....A team of FAA and Boeing engineers and inspectors will conduct this joint review, with an emphasis on the aircraft’s electrical power and distribution system. The review will also examine how the electrical and mechanical systems interact with each other.
In Patent expert decodes U.S. reform bill, Reuters interviewed patent expert John Mancini, co-leader of the intellectual property practice at law firm Mayer Brown.
Read the article: http://www.reuters.com/article.
Liability insurance experts may consult on issues involving general liability insurance, umbrella policies, bodily injury coverage, and more. The property-casualty insurance trade organization, The American Insurance Association, urged safety and preparedness ahead of hurricane Sandy which included:
• Make an inventory list of your home’s contents. It is best to photograph or videotape your items.• Examine your roof carefully, looking for worn, curled or missing shingles. If you cannot inspect your roof easily, look for moisture or surface discoloration in your attic.
• Remove dead or dying trees and shrubs; trim tree branches so they do not extend over the roof or chimney.
Read more: http://www.aiadc.org/
The Paralegal Knowledge Institute is presenting Introduction To Construction Defect Litigation/Forensic Investigation on December 5th and 12th.
Construction defect litigation is rapidly growing. This two session online, interactive course takes you through the complex and often confusing pre-trial construction defect dispute - from researching plans, maps and permits through inspections, experts and testing.Learn new skills or take a refresher course. Taught by an expert with years of experience who knows and understands the realistic nuances of a paper intensive, detail oriented, niche arena.
More info: http://www.paralegalknowledge.com/
Patents expert witnesses may write reports on drug patents, patent prosecution, and patent infringement. In a recent post on www.becker-posner-blog.com, Professor Gary S. Becker, University of Chicago, Departments of Economics, Graduate School of Business, and Sociology, writes on Reforming the Patent System Toward a Minimalist System.
Read more: www.becker-posner-blog.com.
Invention patents expert witnesses may write reports and testify on software patents, patent infringement, computer patents, and related matters. In the news, the smartphone industry alone spent as much as $20 billion on patent litigation and patent purchases in the past two years.
Geekosystem.com notes that in 2011 Apple and Google spent more on patents than they did on research and development.
Pesticides expert witnesses may give opinions regarding pesticide contamination, pesticide products, and pesticide pollution. According to the International HCH and Pesticides Association, it is very difficult to estimate to assess the real extent of the obsolete pesticides problem, as only a limited number of field investigations have been made globally, but the best preliminary guess gives the estimate of over 300,000 tons world wide. IHPA promotes the management of pollution problems stemming from the production and use of HCH and other unwanted pesticides worldwide.
Read more: http://www.ihpa.info/
The Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Trial Advocacy Section on Monday, Oct. 8 presents its “TAP (Trial Advocacy Project): Expert Witness Workshop.”
According to the LACBA meeting announcement, “The Expert Witness Workshop” provides introductory and advanced level instruction on how to use expert witnesses in civil and criminal actions, with special emphasis on expert testimony.
According to the announcement:
“Topics covered in the program include evidentiary rules regarding expert opinions, taking and defending expert depositions, how experts can help and hurt a case, direct and cross-examination of expert witnesses, establishing and challenging expert qualifications, and advanced expert testimony techniques. In the workshop portion of the program participant’s conduct direct and cross-examination of an expert witness.”
The event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Mock Courtroom, 1055 West 7th Street, 27th Floor, Los Angeles.
Information is available by telephoning (213) 896-6560.
