Articles by Expert Witnesses

In 2017, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Advocated Health Care Network v. Stapleton that the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) did not apply to church-affiliated hospitals and assumedly other church-affiliated organizations.

Important points to consider when evaluating seating for a high use restaurant, hotel, casino, timeshare resort, university or cruise line environment.

Research from The PEW Charitable Trusts (PEW) has evaluated what policies and factors could be inhibiting certain states from reducing their public pension system funding gaps.

In this article, the author explains the basics of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)--in particular the Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) element of the statute. He illustrates the risks associated with the use of "dialers" to communicate via voice or text and provides a detailed checklist of Dos and Don'ts. This is a purely objective checklist that applies equally to Plaintiffs and Defendants.

A properly qualified expert witness is essential, but it becomes especially crucial in the event of brain injuries where training and credentials are not all equal. For example, the event that causes Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Concussions might also lead to PTSD or emotional distress. A Forensic Psychiatrist is adequately qualified to address the PTSD or emotional distress, but may not have the depth of training necessary to evaluate TBI and its impact. These inter-relationships, or lack, are best understood and assessed by a qualified Expert Witness in both Psychiatry and Brain Injury Medicine. In addition, a Forensic Psychiatrist has additional experience with the medico-legal aspects of a case. Helping juries understand complex cross-over conditions may require an Expert with a unique background and credentials.

The Department of Labor, through the Employee Benefits Security Administration, issued a final rule on July 29, 2019 that expands retirement options for millions of workers employed by small businesses.

Investigations into child pornography offenses often begin with the receipt of a CyberTipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Both prosecutors and defense attorneys should be familiar with these reports and the information they can contain.

Do you want to win your slip, trip, and fall cases that take place in restaurants? Of course, you do. Did you know that slips, trips, and falls in the restaurant industry are completely different from slips, trips, and falls in any other industry? Here we will help you find out just how different they really are and give you some critical insider insight that will help you win these restaurant industry cases and may even inspire you to want to take on more restaurant industry matters to expand your legal practice.

In child pornography cases, attorneys often rely on computer forensic examiners to look for evidence that a suspect or defendant possessed or shared contraband material. The sentencing criteria in these cases can be complex so it is important that attorneys convey to the examiner what to look for and how to report it.

Reporting and compliance requirements for certain multiemployer pension plans have been amended by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”), effective July 1, 2019.

In some situations, displays that expert witnesses use may create confusion to jurors instead of providing clarification on an issue. The display interface can lead to misinterpretations and misunderstandings if the jurors are not as up to date on technology or how the display explains the material. Being aware of this information can help expert witnesses refrain from using confusing displays or use displays that increase juror understanding.

Many hotels have elected to install barn style doors inside the hotel rooms. These doors are creating accidents to the hotel guests.

The aspect of lawyer and client privilege and what the expert can expect in a case may depend if he or she is a designated expert witness or a consultant only researching matters and helping the lawyer hire another expert witness. Keeping research non-discoverable is important in certain litigation claims or criminal investigations.

Litigation can protect an expert witness that acts either as a consultant or someone that works in the background of a case through research, reports and testing of evidence with the case materials. The research may remain confidential even with discovery rules depending on the specific situation and the information involved in this process.

Accountant expert witnesses have certain professional rules that apply to both work and testimony or reports involved in the cases or claims that these accountants will work with and in which may change what will occur. These professional rules affect how the expert works and what he or she will progress through with the evidence.

ERISA plan sponsors or administrators may be required to use a new form and instructions for all types of future coverage determination requests, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on May 8, 2019 by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

Sometimes, the conclusion that the expert witness comes to in a case is not what the lawyer wants because it does not support the argument the lawyer is making or trying to convince the courtroom about with the details. When this occurs, the professional hired will need to explain why his or her conclusion is counter to the argument.

When becoming part of a case, the expert witness will need a solid retainer agreement with specific provisions and stipulations about what pay to receive, what work is important for the case and which duties will reimburse the professional when he or she pays for them. This retainer agreement usually is the first step in a lawyer and expert relationship.

Lawyers and courts turn to expert witnesses to provide triers of fact with explanations of aspects of a case that are not commonly known. It is the subject matter expert’s education, experience, and skill in a particular area that will help the triers of fact to reach a well-informed conclusion/decision.

The expert witness retainer agreement is something that both the lawyer and the professional hired to act as the expert witness in the trial will negotiate before any services rendered will require a more clear understanding of what the expert needs. With these retainer agreements, there are sections that explain each type of fee and details about how much the expert can expect.

When an expert witness wants to become part of more cases, he or she may need to consider marketing his or her experience and background to grab the attention of more lawyers that need professionals as part of various cases. There are several strategies that the expert can put into effect to increase the likelihood of hire.

Cases such as copyright violations, computer hacking, and distribution of child pornography often involve using an individual's IP address to identify them. But, what is an IP address and how reliable are they at identifying individuals?

The increasing indebtedness of state pension systems means that state budgets are facing significant pressure and tough financial decisions, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article titled, “New Jersey Needs a Pension Fix. Is This It?”

The initial consultation is when the prospective client is considering hiring the lawyer, but this phase may also require a better understanding of the expert witness that may need to become part of the proceedings in the courtroom and behind the scenes. The lawyer may need to introduce this professional later after the consultation completes.

Fidelity Investments is the subject of a Department of Labor investigation regarding an annual “infrastructure fee” imposed on third-party firms that sell their own mutual funds on Fidelity’s FundsNetwork platform, according to a February 2019 article in The Wall Street Journal titled, “Government Probes Fidelity Over Obscure Mutual-Fund Fees.”

A lawyer usually can become an expert witness in legal matters, to remove confusion about laws and regulations in the case and to prevent further confusion about something specific or minute regarding laws in a local or city issue. The lawyer can explain various aspects of the matter and provide objective materials for better clarification of the situation.

There are certain ways to keep an expert witness focused on the task of the case rather than seeking to protect or further his or her reputation when performing for the lawyer, and it is vital to employ these to safeguard the case. It is crucial to build a strong relationship with both professionals and to seek to further the progress of the case.

The District courts have given a judgment about what the expert witness can accomplish when it comes to legal conclusions and what is possible within the testimony presented in the courtroom with the professional. It is important for the expert to abide by this decision and only explain what he or she has permission to state.

When retaining an expert witness for a case, the lawyer usually negotiates a contract between the two professionals with certain aspects of financial matters that will detail the fees involved and what the expert witness can expect in payment. There are particular sections of this agreement that detail the relationship and what services will allot which fees.

The expert witness usually must provide similar or the same testimony during the trial as when he or she did during the deposition to ensure that the details are not different or contradictory. This is an important matter that the lawyer and expert may need to discuss before the trial takes place to prevent disqualification.

In this article, the author explains the basics of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)--in particular the Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) element of the statute. He illustrates the risks associated with the use of "dialers" to communicate via voice or text, with an example scenarios. He briefly discusses preventions and defenses based on his considerable expertise in telecommunications and his experience as a consulting and testifying expert for the defense in TCPA cases.

The engagement letter with the expert witness is a layout of the scope that the lawyer and expert will have in the relationship for testimony and all other processes with the case. It is important to include certain terms and ensure that the expert witness is aware of his or her responsibilities both in and out of the courtroom.

Most colleges and universities in the United States and worldwide write and implement strategic enrollment plans every year.

I have often written about the folly of making predictions about the future of higher education in the United States and around the world. However, I recently came across this article and realized that the 25 predictions I made 14 years ago about the future of higher education have for the most part, become reality.

Expert witnesses usually must have testimony that remains the same or they could face disqualification from the case and professional problems when others hear of these issues with testimony. Impeaching the witness from the case is important if testimony changes that could impact the case in a negative way to the point of loss.

The Pew Charitable Trusts recently revised a 2017 issue brief titled “State Retiree Health Care Liabilities: An Update.” This 50-state survey of retiree healthcare liabilities reviews how prefunding policies and reducing benefits may help states effectively manage the increasing costs associated with “other post-employment benefits” (OPEB).

The expert witness report often must provide details about the revealing nature of the case and is part of the Federal Rules of discovery, civil procedure or criminal procedure. The legal team must share this information at certain times based on the type of case, and the mandatory disclosure of the report is necessary for both legal sides and arguments

When the legal team hires an expert witness that is passionate about his or her subject, it is possible that an argument may break out in the courtroom or when engaging in the topic involved in the case. It is important to get this professional back on track and ensure that the testimony or information is in line with the case or claim in the courtroom.

Expert witnesses confront various ethical challenges when progressing through civil litigation no matter if the case is simple or has complex parts and processes to include presenting testimony and using procedures for testing. Success in these ethical challenges can ensure the professional is aware of how to navigate morals and expected mores of the city where the case occurs.

Author makes the case for why higher education in the United States is not inelastic and why enrollments in the future face significant, and different, challenges from those in the past.

On an almost-spring March day in Massachusetts, Boston U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling, held a press conference, the purpose of which was to announce indictments against 50 people, including 33 parents, in a college admission scandal.

Expert witnesses can face similar legal problems as other professionals depending on the situation, and some of these include professional or sexual misconduct, interfering with an investigation, breach of contract and misleading or misrepresentation of the facts. Some legal concerns arise during a case or when the professional hired by the lawyer causes problems during a case.

After nearly a decade of failing to turn a profit, Sears Holdings Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 15, 2018. As of February 11, 2019, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) is now the trustee for two Sears defined benefit pension plans. The move follows bankruptcy court approval of an agreement between the PBCC and Sears that terminated the plans as of January 31, 2019.

The relationship between lawyer and expert witness relies upon the work they accomplish which requires a lack of conflict and a better understanding of the subject matter. There are ways of avoiding arguments that can help assist both parties in seeking stronger bonds and working together on the case accordingly.

Hiring an expert witness is often difficult when the subject matter is a complex problem for everyone involved, and there are certain tips that exist to provide assistance in both saving time and money with this process. These usually entail performing research online and locally to lower costs of travel along with cutting out expensive professionals services.

Lifting the brow in men will more than likely have deleterious effects on their appearance.

Ethics often come into play when hiring and using expert witnesses for both criminal and civil cases because the expert witness is someone that can help, support or even remove confusion with evidence and various processes. There are certain ethical dilemmas and problems that may arise with professional hires and even in the cases themselves.

Acquiring effective expert witness testimony is crucial for any case where this professional is a needed component to attempt to convince the judge or jury of a valid argument for or against a person. The tips that can increase effectiveness involve both preparation and direct or indirect cross-examination with both sides of the argument.

The numbers are staggering. According to the American Bar Association, there are 50,000 law firms in the U.S. with two or more attorneys. If you also count solo practitioners firms, the U.S. Census estimates almost 175,000 total legal establishments. Guess what? Not all of them can or will be ranked #1 on Google. In fact, most won't make the first pages of the online directories. Now, if you’re one of the 95% that won’t, and you listen to the “experts", you might as well pack up shop right now. But to take that attitude is to run counter to everything that marketing is to supposed be about.

The investment world and the financial medias are abuzz with the USD yield curve and its growing flattening/inversion, and for good reasons. Here is why.