Thoughtleading for Expert Witnesses

"Become the Go-To Authority" caught my eye, so I placed the book on my Amazon list and finally got around to reading it a few months later. Ken Lizotte's book, The Expert's Edge, is about how to become a "thoughtleader" and authority in your field. Although not all of it is applicable to expert witnesses because of the unique nature of the legal field (not being an advocate, possible contradictions in opinions, etc.), much of his advice is at least thought-provoking.

The book centers around the five pillars of thoughtleading:

Pillar 1: Publishing your ideas
Pillar 2: Speaking before groups
Pillar 3: Keeping your edge with fresh thinking
Pillar 4: Creatively leveraging the Internet
Pillar 5: Making vigorous use of the media

A quick, worthwhile read.

Your Expert Witness Practice & The Unexpected

What happens after the unexpected? I know I harp on preparing for disaster, the future, and the unexpected, but I was recently reminded of another factor in the equation.

The wife of an expert witness who died unexpectedly contacted me last week. She was trying to close his practice in the most responsible way possible - contacting clients, trying to refer them to other experts, returning files to attorneys, etc. It was overwhelming, especially trying to collect unpaid fees and expenses. I helped her as much as I could, but it served as a reminder that we should think about who will handle what we leave behind and how we can make it easier on them.

If you are uncomfortable discussing such things, write some instructions to be available after the "unexpected". Perhaps even try to divide duties among more than one person. Please give it some thought.

Expert Witness Practice a Little Quiet?

If your practice is less busy than you would like right now, make use of the extra time by spiffing up your database of contacts. Enter those business cards you collected at your last association meeting. Scroll through and see if a referral source deserves a thank you. Are there lists of prospects you could buy or compile for your database? As Rosalie Hamilton says in The Expert Witness Marketing Book:

"Communication is the lifeblood of promotion. A well-built, well-maintained database is one of your most valuable businss assets. Possibly you could even sell the information to a younger expert witness in your field when you retire. For now, your database is your field of prospects. The better you create and cultivate that field, the greater will be the crop you harvest. "

Marketing Resolutions

Have you made any marketing resolutions for the New Year? This post from Lyne Noella might spark some ideas for your own practice. She listed her Top 5 New Year's Resolutions, all applicable to expert witness/professional services marketing.

(Hat tip to Michelle Golden for the heads ups on this post)

Expert Witness Resource Round-Up

A few resources to investigate and read while waiting in the airport or escaping from the in-laws over the holidays:

One of our newsletter readers alerted me to a document from the Federal Judicial Center, "Manual for Complex Litigation." Written by and for judges, it contains good information about what is expected at each stage of litigation, who is supposed to attend various conferences, rules of discovery, etc.

Roger Matus of the Death by E-Mail blog, produced a list of 10 Things to Never Put in Email - especially relevant for expert witnesses. Remember, everything you say or write can come back to haunt you or even ruin a case.

Over on the Juris Pro blog, Karen Olson has posted a short list of "Practice Tips on Expert Witness Fees."

IMS ExpertServices identifies the "Top 10 Expert Witness Cases of 2008" in their December newsletter.

The 2009 Annual Conference of the Forensic Expert Witness Association will be held February 26-28 in La Jolla, California. As the online brochure explains, this conference is designed to help experts of all disciplines stay on "the cutting edge as it relates to courtroom presentation and written work product." Presenters include well-known attorneys and experts.

Here's an older article you would have to hunt down (see if you could borrow an issue from an attorney), but in the October issue of TRIAL magazine, hotel expert Peter Tomaras along with attorney Alison Werner Smith published the article, "Closing the Attorney-Expert Gap." The format makes it quite compelling, providing both the expert's perspective and that of the attorney.

Happy Holidays!

Are You Visible On the Internet?

One of the services we provide our expert witness clients is search engine optimization. But if you are working on your website yourself and want some pointers, Google just released its SEO Starters Guide with some surprisingly good explanations about how Google ranks websites and steps you can do to improve your website's visibility.

Lawyer Involvement in Your Expert Report

How much input should your attorney-client have in crafting your expert report? Where is the boundary? Attorney Robert Ambrogi addresses this in a recent newsletter published by IMS Expert Services, "Expert Reports: Should Lawyers Keep Hands Off?" Be sure and read the comments section as well.

While you're at the IMS website, check out Rosalie's article "Marketing Your Expert Practice in a Recession" too.

Perils of the Internet for Expert Witnesses

In the October issue of Florida Trend, the business magazine for our fair state, I read a comment from consultant Amy Singer regarding online research about jurors. Singer states, "We ask them ...whether they have a website....a blog...a MySpace page... Then, if it's public, we can really look at those things...."

Just another reminder that everything you say and do (especially online) can and will be cussed and discussed and used against you. I assure you - if trial consultants are doing this type of research on jurors that attorneys are vetting you the same way prior to engaging your services.

Be aware of everything posted on your own website of course, but also what family members or friends might say about you on their sites. Watch what you say if you comment on others' blogs or networking sites. Once it's out there - it's there for all to see.

Expert Witness Websites - Contact Info?

I hate to bring this up again, but --- please include contact information on your website! I had a friend contact me recently for help in finding an expert witness in a particular area of expertise. I found four and went to their websites. Two (TWO of the four!) had NO contact information whatsoever. One had a "Contact" form with several lines of required information. Only one had a phone number, address, and email listed.

An attorney is not going to take the time to search for how to reach you; he or she is simply going to move to the next expert on the list. Nor will they fill out a "Contact" form.

The point of having a website is to help potential clients find you when they need your services. If they can't then contact you and retain you, why bother?

Expert Witness Expenses

If you frequently travel by car for business purposes, you may want to note that on July 1, 2008 the IRS raised the standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of driving a vehicle from 50.5 cents to 58.5 cents. They normally only adjust the rate once, at the beginning of the year, but the rising cost of gas made a sixth month change seem more reasonable and fair. You can see more at http://www.irs.gov/

Contracts, Retainers - Getting Paid by Attorneys

We have had many discussions with our newsletter readers about 'getting paid' by their attorney clients. Rosalie addressed this most recently in "Expert Question on Being Retained". One issue she addresses is the signatures on the expert's engagement agreement. I received the following email in response to her advice in that article:

"Your message is right on point. I was recently engaged by a criminal lawyer to help defend a client against a DUI and manslaughter charge. The lawyer sent me a $2,000 retainer and a signed contract, but I carelessly ignored the signature on the contract as it was signed by the mother of the defendant instead of the lawyer.

As a result of my testimony, in a jury trial, I was able to help the defendant get free of the manslaughter charge which could have meant 10 years in jail. However, the lawyer for the defendant still owes me a large amount of money for my expert witness work and that lawyer has ignored payment on my invoices. I will probably end up taking him to small claims court.

In summary, I will carefully review, not only my wording in future retainer contracts, but also the signed signatures, by the other side, on the contract."

This not getting paid is too common a problem for expert witnesses!

What Would You Ask an Attorney?

If you could speak frankly with your attorney clients or prospects, what would you ask them? In the next few weeks I will be interviewing several attorneys about their thoughts, experiences, advice, etc., regarding expert witnesses and consultants. What would you ask? Please leave me your suggestions in the comments (you can post anonymously).

U.S. Court System Not So Bad

The United States legal system has its flaws, but compared to alternatives, we are doing pretty good. You, as expert witnesses, take your share of criticism - being accused of being hired guns, having your credentials and motives questioned, being lumped in with the few bad apples out there, etc. And of course, lawyers get the most criticism (Google "lawyer jokes" and see for yourself), some of it valid (see the compilations of responses from our newsletter readers - Expert Pay Discussion and Designation Without Permission). But judges and the system overall are frequently under attack as well.

Judge John C. Lenderman wrote a well-articulated column, "In Defense of the Lawyers" in the St. Petersburg Times in which he makes a case that "Our system of justice does not tolerate frivolous lawsuits, nor does our system of justice tolerate the actions that give rise to lawyer jokes."

From your experiences with the players and the system - do you agree with Judge Lenderman?

It's Not Too Late...

The 17th Annual National Expert Witness Conference is coming up - June 19-20 in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Presenters include judges, attorneys and experts. Here's one expert's feedback from last year's event:

"I went last year and it was great. Not to mention my business doubled last year. I have been an expert for 15 years and didn't realize how much I didn't know. Last year was the first year I went. I will be unable to attend this year but will try again next year."

Rosalie has attended several times and always comes away with good ideas and new relationships. It's not too late to get in on this year's conference.

Marketing Professional Services Can Be Risky

Marketing an expert witness practice carries its own unique risks, but marketing any professional service takes some courage. How do you know it will work? What if it not only fails, but alienates potential clients? Not to mention that you've probably put a hefty chunk of change into the effort.

Bruce W. Marcus, international pioneer in professional services marketing, has written a great essay "Is Marketing Worth the Risk?" in which he addresses those risks and ways to mitigate them. A good read and worth your time.

Expert Witness Resource Round-Up

A brief selection of recent articles and resources:

Should experts collaborate or compete? This is the question addressed by attorney Robert Ambrogi in "Expert Secrecy: An Ethics Dilemna?" This article has generated several comments from readers.

The second part of Allan Griff's article "Why Do They Call Us Witnesses" (I mentioned the first part in an earlier post) has been published at the IMS website.

Dr. Perry Hookman has just published Medical Malpractice Expert Witnessing. Although it addresses the expert witness, it extensively covers issues faced by the defendant physician as well. As Dr. Hookman writes in the introduction, "I wrote this book because this is the kind of book I wish was available to me prior to my first harsh contact with the U.S. medical malpractice tort system."

Finally, with the vast information available about all of us on the Internet, I suggest you check out the Electronic Privacy Information Center's "Online Guide to Practical Privacy Tools." (Hat tip to Jim Calloway for the heads-up on this site.)

Designation With/Without Permission

In light of our recent discussion on being designated as an expert without being contacted/retained by counsel, this decision by state Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten is quite interesting. He was asked to disqualify an expert witness for the prosecution because the defense team had contacted him first. He denied that request because the expert was neither under retainer nor had any agreement to testify for the defense.

Perfect Time for a "Howdy" Card

With the U.S. Postal rates set to increase again on May 12th, now is the perfect time to send a "howdy card" to your contact list and save some money in the process. (You might also stock up on "Forever" stamps, which are good for first-class mail forever, no matter what rate increases occur in the future.)

As Rosalie says, "The topic of a professional announcement you send to clients and other potential referral sources, as well as good prospects, is almost beside the point. Your real objective is just to say "Howdy," to bring you and your services to the recipient's mind. So I call them "Howdy Cards."

Different Fees for Different Clients?

An expert witness recently emailed me this question: "Does it affect an expert's credibility to use different fee schedules with different clients?"

My immediate response was that all information is discoverable these days - anything you make public on the Internet, print and mail out (even to individuals), say, do, etc., - can and will be 'cussed and discussed' as my mother says, and used against you. I can't imagine a good answer when asked about it in deposition or court by opposing counsel.

What makes this particular question even more dangerous is that the expert was charging plaintiff attorneys at a different rate from defense attorneys. I actually cringed when I read his email.

Am I way off-base? Do you think this expert could be unwittingly inviting trouble or am I over-reacting?

This N That

Here's a collection of some articles and resources I think you might find helpful:

"There is both an art and science to writing an expert report..." In the Fall 2007 issue of The Legal Write, Micheal J. Molder, JD, CPA, CFE and David H. Glusman, CPA, DABFA, CFS, Cr.FA go on in great detail about expert reports, covering issues such as admissibility, the drafting process, Federal Rules of Evidence, objectivity, and credibility. A good read.

I've just recently discovered a service called Jott. In our information overloaded, multi-tasking world, this is a great way to avoid letting things slip through the cracks. Have you ever been driving down the road and had a brilliant idea or remembered someone you were supposed to contact? With Jott, you call an 800 number, talk up to 30 seconds, and the recognition software transcribes your message and sends you an email. You can also add other contacts and have Jott send them an email. It is free and there is no software to download.

Are there people you call frequently that have a long voicemail greeting? You've heard it over and over yet continue to be subjected to the entire message every time you call in order to leave a message? On many voicemail services, you can hit either 7 or # to skip that long greeting, saving you time, aggravation and possibly cell phone minutes!

Have you read any good articles or discovered some practice management or time-saving tricks lately?