Emily J. Will, D-BFDE

Emily J. Will, D-BFDE is a board certified forensic document examiner, equipped to answer your handwriting and document questions, conduct laboratory or on-site examinations, prepare illustrated reports and courtroom exhibits, and present testimony at trial.

Services

Emily J. Will, D-BFDE offers the following services:

- Comparison and Identification of Handwriting

- Technical Document Examination

Discovery and proof of alterations, obliterations, erasures, indented writing;
Examination of medical and accounting records and journal entries;
Ink discrimination;
Detailed, Illustrated reports available;
Court Testimony supported by demonstrative exhibits.

Litigation Support Services

Emily J. Will, D-BFDE is a certified board forensic document examiner, equipped to answer your handwriting and document questions, conduct laboratory or on-site examinations, prepare illustrated reports and courtroom exhibits, and present testimony at trial.

Areas of Expertise

Profile

Emily J. Will, M.A, DBFDE, Board Certified Document Examiner

Experience: Private practice for 34 years examining cases from North Carolina and 42 other states, as well as internationally. Accepted as an expert witness and testified in state civil and criminal courts in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan and Washington D.C., and in federal court; appointed by state and federal courts.

Proficiency: In 2001 through 2008 participated successfully in the Handwriting Identification proficiency testing program of the Forensic Expertise Profiling Laboratory at Latrobe University in Australia. Results available upon request.

Collaborative Testing Services Forensic Handwriting Identification and/or Document Examination Testing Program, Herndon, VA, 1998-2000 and in 2005-07. These tests are prepared in cooperation with the Questioned Document Section - American Academy of Forensic Sciences. CTS tests forensic laboratories in 55 countries worldwide

Equipment: Bausch and Lomb StereoZoom5 microscope (8X-160X), Foster and Freeman VSC-4c Video
Spectral Comparator, ESDA-Lite Indentation Materializer, Mac/PC computers, scanners.

Consulting Practice

All States

Professional Experience

Private practice for 34 years examining cases from North Carolina and 42 other states, and internationally. Accepted as an expert witness and testified in state civil/criminal courts in eleven states, and in federal court; appointed by state and federal courts

Licenses

Certified by the Board of Forensic Document Examiners and by the National Association of Document Examiners

Legal Experience & Services

In 2001 through 2004 participated successfully in the Handwriting Identification proficiency testing program of the Forensic Expertise Profiling Laboratory at Latrobe University in Australia. Results available upon request.

Collaborative Testing Services Forensic Handwriting Identification and Document Examination Testing Program, Herndon, VA, 1998, 1999 & 2000. These tests are prepared in cooperation with the Questioned Document Section - American Academy of Forensic Sciences. CTS tests forensic laboratories in 55 countries worldwide.

Affiliations

* Member, and Past President, of the Association of Forensic Document Examiners (AFDE). Also Editorial Board member for the Journal of Forensic Document Examination (AFDE Journal) from 2005 - present.
* Secretary, Board of Forensic Document Examiners, 2007 - 2012. Treasurer, 2015 - present
* Director, Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board (FSAB), 2008-present, Secretary FSAB 2015-2017, Vice-President 2017 - 2020, President 2021
* Member, NIST Human Factors Expert Working Group for Handwriting Examination - 2015-2019

Qualifications

* 1998-2000, 2005-2013 participated successfully in proficiency testing in Handwriting Examination or Document Examination. Collaborative Testing Services of Herndon, VA
* 2001-2008 participated successfully in the Handwriting Identification Proficiency- testing program of the Forensic Expertise Profiling Laboratory at Latrobe University in Australia.

Seminars & Training

Training: Completed the Questioned Document program of Mr. Felix Klein (1985-86) including course work and examinations in the field of Questioned Document Examination. Mr. Klein was a document examiner with 40 years experience, serving as a consultant to the United Nations and testifying in many foreign countries, as well as in the U.S.

Continuing Education: Attended the AFDE 3-4 day Symposia in 2002-2016 and the NADE 3-4 day conferences in 1996-2017. In 1988, 1989, 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2003 attended the annual Scientific Sessions of the Questioned Document Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and technical workshops in 2007, 2009, 2013, and 2015.

Attended the 4 day workshop, Printing Process Identification and Image Analysis for Forensic Document Examiners at Rochester Institute of Technology in June, 2001.

Publications

Articles:
• Good Standards in Document Examination Cases, Trial Briefs (North Carolina Academy of
Trial Lawyers) Summer, 1988
• Medical Records Case Solved Photographically, NADE Journal, Spring, 1998
• Ink Differentiation with Digital Photography, NADE Journal, Spring, 1999 and International Journal
of Forensic Document Examination. 1999
• A Discussion of Dandy Rolls and Watermarks - co-author Mr. Robert Johnson , NADE
Journal, Fall, 1999
• The Microscope - Through the Looking Glass - Chemistry in Australia - (The Journal of the
Royal Society of Chemists in Australia) May 2000
• Handwriting, Biomechanics and Significance: Concepts in Handwriting Identification, NADE
Journal, Summer 2001
• Seeing is Believing – Exhibits from the Perspective of the Forensic Document Examiner, Illinois Law
Enforcement Executive Forum, Vol. 2, #3, August, 2002
• Micrometry Using a Calibrated Ocular Reticule; co-author Joseph Barabe, NADE Journal, 2005
• Wake Up to the Wacom™ Tablet - Journal of Forensic Document Examination –Vol. 17, 2004-5
• Progress in Digital Microscopy - A Technical Review of the MiScope Digital Microscope - Journal of
Forensic Document Examination - Vol. 20, 2010
• Inferring Relative Speed of Handwriting from the Static Trace - Journal of Forensic Document
Examination - Vol.22, 2012

Presentations
• Handwriting, Biomechanics and Significance - 2000 NADE Conference
• Research for the Document Examiner - 2001 NADE Conference
• Line Sequence and MICS – Research in Progress – 2001 AFDE Symposium
• The Electromagnetic Spectrum - 2002 NADE Pre-Conference Workshop
• Importing Science - 2002 AFDE Symposium
• Three Significant Cases – 2003 NADE Conference
• Print Process Identification – 2003 AFDE Symposium, 2004 IAQDE, 2005 NADE
• Dynamic Trace and Static Trace – 2004 NADE Conference
• Establishing the Science of Handwriting Identification – 2004 AFDE Symposium
• Speed in Handwriting - 2006 NADE Conference, 2006 AFDE Symposium
• Technical Review of the MiScope Digital Microscope - 2009 AFDE Symposium
• Speed in Handwriting Research Project - 2010 AFDE Symposium, 2011 IGS Conference
• Introduction to Document Examination Equipment - 2011 NADE 2-day Workshop
• Handwritten Electronic Digitized Signatures - 2011 AFDE Symposium, 2012 NADE
• Point of Sale Signatures and their Forensic Examination - 2012 AFDE Symposium
• Constructing a Forensic Report - 2013 NADE Conference
• One Significant Difference - 2014 NADE Conference, 2014 AFDE Symposium
• Parameters for Examination of Non-original Documents, 2015 NADE Conference
• NIST Expert Working Group - Human Factors in Handwriting Examination, 2016 NADE Conference
• Explaining the Basis for Handwriting Identification, 2016 AFDE Symposium
• Expressing Forensic Document Examination Opinions, 2017 NADE Conference
• A Quality Manual for Forensic Document Examiners 2018 AFDE Symposium
• Expressing Opinions Regarding Questioned Handwriting 2019 AFDE Symposium

Professional References

Available upon request

Education

BS in Education - Syracuse University, 1969
MA in Counseling - Syracuse University, 1970