Articles by Expert Witnesses

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.

In Varsity v. Star Athletica, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed one of the confounding issues in copyright law: when pictorial, graphic and sculptural works are sufficiently separate from the articles on which they are placed to qualify for copyright protection.

Georgetown University is the latest school to fight off a lawsuit brought against their 403(b) plans claiming a breach of fiduciary duties. Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis have also had lawsuits dismissed, while New York University succeeded in a trial hearing last year.

This article is prompted by an inquiry we received recently from a family law practitioner who felt that he had extracted all he could from the smorgasbord of online marketing tools and was seeking alternative, “out-of-the-box” means for growing his practice.

Expert witnesses hired for a court case where they must provide testimony usually have very stringent guidelines in place that require certain protocols and processes that affect opinions provided and processes that the professional must follow. Within these guidelines, the expert witness can present a case and remove confusion about evidence.

Brain Injury Medicine (BIM) has recently been added as a subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties, I am asked by attorneys to explain more about it. Qualified Board-Certified Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Physiatrists (Physical Medicine and Rehab) and Sports Medicine physicians are permitted to take the exam for the Brain Injury Medicine certification.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans are not available to one-third of U.S. workers, according to the Pew Center, and many employees who do have access to a pension plan do not participate. Some industry sources estimate that up to 58 million private sector workers are not covered by a retirement plan.

There are different ways that a professional that has experience with a certain subject field can become an expert witness for the courtroom hired by a lawyer. Many of these different methods are from a start and continued experience with lawyers that can help to further the career of a professional with legal matters.

There are numerous tips for expert witnesses in providing the courtroom with the most effective testimony possible for the subject matter, depending on what the expert needs to get across to the judge or jury panel. These tips often depend on the understanding of the question, the reliable testing methods and relevant content presented to the court.

Frye and Daubert are the standards for expert witnesses that explain what the professional must accomplish to remain a designated witness for the trial case. There are many factors for vetting and qualifying the expert in the courtroom, and it is important that the professional first understand these criteria under Frye before testifying.

U.S. corporate pension plan sponsors continue to pursue a strategy called “pension risk transfer”under the favorable economic conditions of 2018. A pension risk transfer generally refers to the process by which a pension plan sponsor purchases a group annuity from an insurance company to cover pension payments and administration for all or a portion of plan participants.

Throughout the entire country, expert witnesses have become an integral part of the court cases for multiple and numerous issues that may arise where there is a need to explain something further or remove confusion. By using an expert with a scientific background, it is possible that the professional can do so in all states in the country.

The best practices that expert witnesses adhere to generally require staying on point in the case, keeping the material relevant and ensuring that all test methods are reliable or give reliable results with a known margin of error. Other best practices usually change based on the case, but many of these are similar throughout the expert’s life in the courts.

Expert witnesses that either do not make it through qualifying as a designated expert witness or that provide services outside of the expert witness field can assist the lawyer in understanding the subject materials or in finding an expert witness to give testimony in the courtroom. Other consultants work closely with the legal team for informational purposes.

Sales of independent film is a volatile undertaking, even under the best of circumstances. The competition is stiff, buyer’s tastes shift, and thousands of films are produced globally each year. According to IMDB, in the last 10 years, film production has doubled from 4,585 in 2005 to 9,387 films in 2015.

Finding an expert witness often requires assistance such as a database, expert hiring agency or research into the local area to discover if there exists someone with the relevant knowledge of the subject matter that is in the case. Once the lawyer and legal team find this professional, it is time to interview and then determine if a hire is the next step.

Stress testing for public sector retirement plans is gaining attention following the adoption of new standardized guidelines, as well as support from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The practice of stress testing started with banks and financial institutions following the 2008 economic crisis, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

Many child pornography cases involve computers and hiring a computer expert witness is crucial to help prove or disprove the matter. The professional will perform many checks on the involved computing devices, analyze data from deleted files and assess internet connections to certain chat rooms, browser history and other tasks.

Working with an expert witness hired for a specific case requires an understanding of what this professional will do during the case, before the courtroom and while in the court. Having a strong relationship with this expert is a key to a better experience and to a greater attempt at success in the claim or case for the client.

To make the most of the expert witness for the case, it is important to hire this professional early and explain the specifics of the direct examination. When it is clear that a trial case is the likely outcome, the expert witness may need an early hire to work through the evidence and other materials quickly to support the argument in the courtroom.

There is much to be said about the February 5th losses on the leveraged VIX ETF options.

What happened on February 5th, 2018.

As an active duty Deputy Fire Chief, I was responsible for the lives and safety of all of my firefighters as well. Creating an environment free from harassment, intimidation, discrimination and other such harmful behavior was as much important as creating a safe emergency scene.