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No matter how good your witness is, he or she can probably use a few pointers about how to be a better communicator.
IN THE DISTANT PAST, expert witnesses were a rarity in the courtroom. Steadily over the last few decades, they became a more familiar presence in litigation. Today, it the unusual case that does not rely to some extent on expert testimony. Slip-and-fall, auto accident, and workers' compensation cases rely on expert medical testimony to prove damages or eligibility for benefits. Divorce cases have come to involve economists to demonstrate projected earnings capacity and standard of living; and experts are now common in complex commercial litigation.
What this means is that you are not only going to continue using experts on a regular basis; you will be using them more often than ever before. Since the experts will provide the evidence that the lay witnesses can't, they have to be effective. To be effective, they have to be persuasive. And to be persuasive, they have to be good communicators. In this article, we will discuss some of the things that make expert witness testimony work. We present this as a set of instructions or suggestions to make directly to the expert.
THE BASIC RULES e The first rule for any expert witness is to use plain, simple English. Do not use terms that only members of your profession know. Do not use abbreviations that are not known outside your field. Above all, know your audience and be thoroughly prepared.
1. Remember Why You're There
The late, great Professor Henry R DeVries, once the Director of Columbia University's School of Foreign and Comparative Law, testified as an expert witness on Latin American and French law in many cases. There is, however, a story that he shared with his students about how unprepared he was the first time he appeared as an expert witness. The first question he was asked on cross-examination was: "Now Professor, please tell us how much you are being paid to lie today"
Professor DeVries was flabbergasted and did a good imitation of Jackie Gleason's humma, humma, humma routine. But he was never again caught off guard. Incidentally, a number of responses would have been appropriate to the rude...