Expert Witness Blog
In Writing and Defending Your Expert Report, Meredith Hamilton, Managing Editor of “Expert News – The Practice Building Newsletter for Expert Consultants” published by Expert Communications, writes:
Do you remember being terrified with the threat, “it will go on your permanent record” in grade school? Guess what? It’s real.
Expert reports – Not only are they one of your primary work products as an expert witness, but they are “out there” forever as part of some court record. A superb one can decide a case, be discussed among attorneys and become your greatest marketing tool. A poor report can be used to discredit and undermine you for years.
For these reasons, we have for years endorsed *Writing and Defending Your Expert Report* as one of just a handful of books that we believe essential for an expert witness to have in their library. However, as anything dealing with the law is apt to do, the rules change. Published in 2002, drastic changes have taken place in the last twelve years, including the biggie in 2010 on discoverability of draft reports.
Well, the authors (and an additional attorney author) of that seminal text have come out with a better book. Current in all aspects, this text spells it out on how to write an expert witness report. The graphics and layout of the book make it easy to find what you’re looking for, and to discern the key points and takeaways.
Just a couple tidbits that were new to me: Did you know you could be precluded from testifying altogether if your report is too vague? Do you ever use the royal “we” in your reports? How about referring to yourself in the third person? Might want to think twice. And, just in case you missed something, they’ve included a starter Quality Control Checklist that you can customize to your practice.
Hands down, the best feature? Actual expert witness reports from a variety of disciplines, with graphs, pictures, the formatting of each report – over 246 pages of the text is sample reports. You want to see how the other guy does it? It’s here.
Authored by three experienced attorneys, *How to Write an Expert Witness Report* is my new recommended must have for expert witnesses. Read more about the 560 page hardbound text and get your copy for 150 plus shipping and processing at http://tinyurl.com/ndc58al
Find additional articles and resources for experts at http://www.expertcommunications.com.
Meredith Hamilton Expert Communications Expert Witness Marketing & Training 9090 Skillman St, #182A-350, Dallas, TX 75243 214-774-9920 Fax 214-774-9851 meredith@expertcommunications.com