Testifying as an expert witness is one of the most exciting and hazardous forms of duty that professionals can be asked to perform. Drawing on his direct experience from 200 jury trials and 600 depositions within the American judicial system, Professor Brian Peter Brinig shares inside information on: - Strategies and tactics of high-level expert witness work - Providing sophisticated, defensible expert testimony in depositions and trials - Handling antagonistic attorneys and surviving cross-examination - The subtleties of testifying in front of judges and juries - Planning, developing and documenting the expert opinion - Procedures and practices required for success in litigation consulting - Managing and marketing a new or existing forensic consulting practice Mastering the Art of Expert Witness Testimony is a must-read for anyone involved in-or contemplating-this exciting, lucrative area of consulting.

The past two decades have seen a rapidly growing involvement of psychologists and psychiatrists in legal proceedings for criminal cases, divorces, and traffic and industrial accidents. Mental health professionals are traditionally not trained to cope with the legal responsibilities that arise from their routine clinical work and are eager to learn the professional skills that are needed in forensic settings. There is presently no book which focuses entirely on the strategies and verbal tactics employed by attorneys who critically examine and challenge the testimony of mental health professionals. If psychologists and psychiatrists can familiarize themselves with the kind of questions and verbal exchanges that take place in the courtroom, they would be better prepared to provide their expertise in an effective manner. This book fills that need. Designed as a practical handbook to assist practitioners from all mental health disciplines, it focuses on typical courtroom dialogue between attorneys and mental health professionals who testify regarding their psychotherapy clients and also those who are hired by attorneys specifically to provide expert opinions. The authors, who have extensive experience in the courtroom, offer well-thought-out, effective responses as contrasted with impulsive and weak answers to attorneys' queries. Actual cases are employed to illustrate typical challenges in various legal areas, including criminal law, child custody hearings, and personal injury cases. Certain forensic issues such as the scientific bases of expert opinions, the accuracy of psychological vs. medical tests, and malingering, are emphasized throughout the chapters. The book is based on the belief that exposure to courtroom dialogue enhances the awareness of appropriate professional responses to an attorney's cross-examination and greatly alleviates fear toward a situation well-known to provoke intense levels of anxiety. Although it is written alluding to the forensic psychologist or psychiatrist, the strategies for the witness are readily applicable in most instances to all mental health professionals. Issues such as therapist bias, unconfirmed observations, and cultural and ethnic factors are clearly relevant to all who provide mental health services.

Order two copies of this book: one for yourself and one for your expert witness. It will give experts the confidence they need to be comfortable in court, and give you the skills necessary to emphasize the credibility of your experts. You can avoid pitfalls such as unintentional signals, inappropriate demeanor and appearance, and awkward body language by using Expert Testimony: A Guide for Expert Witnesses and the Lawyers Who Examine Them as your guide. In this newly revised Fourth Edition, Elizabeth Boals and Steve Lubet provide counsel on the development and presentation of expert testimony in the digital age, including discussion of visual aids and electronic discovery; analyze the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; discuss the ethical rules governing expert retention and testimony; give examples of expert witness examinations and detailed discussion of techniques for coping with lawyer questioning; and provide checklists for quick reference. The collaborative effort of Professors Lubet and Boals has resulted in a new edition worthwhile to both the expert witnesses and the lawyers who examine them.

The third edition of this classic resource provides mental health professionals with pithy, practical advice for testifying in court with the same wit and whimsy and a revamped structure.

This is the book you will actually use. Expert testimony puzzles even seasoned attorneys and experienced judges. This Visual Refresher Course simplifies understanding with a practical approach to mapping the expert's argument and assessing opinions against the controlling legal principles. Get straight into the elements and analysis of expert testimony, from a practical perspective. Stop suffering through 400-page tomes searching for the core principles you need now. The work's been done for you, so no need to waste your time. A Visual Refresher Course on Expert Testimony provides the quick overview you need to think clearly about expert witnesses. While intended for young lawyers and law students, everyone can discover the benefits of this high-yield reference resource. This Visual Refresher Course shows: -How experts master their fields and specialized knowledge-How experts argue-How the legal principles frame expert testimony-How to map an expert's opinion into a diagram-How to analyze that opinion-How to think critically about the comparison and weighing of competing expert opinions-How to finds strengths and weaknesses, as well as simple frameworks for persuasive presentations on direct examination and cross examinationThis step-by-step, Visual Refresher Course covers: the path to mastering specialized knowledge, shortcuts and biases; breaking down and mapping the expert's argument; Federal Rules of Evidence 702 and 703, the legal principles for expert opinions and their eight levels of continua; qualifications; facts, data and assumptions; principles, methods and their application; the opinion and its battle for the best explanation; and more.Real-world examples are drawn: My Cousin Vinny (1992); the polygraph in Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923); the studies in Daubert v Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc, 509 U.S. 579 (1993); the epidemiological studies in General Electric Co. v. Joiner, 522 U.S. 136 (1997); the tire analysis in Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137 (1999); the blood samples in People v. O.J. Simpson; medical decision-making, mental health diagnosis, and child custody evaluations; DNA identification and the fallibility of witness identification; standardized field sobriety, abusive head trauma [shaken baby syndrome], syndrome evidence [battered women, sexually abused child], and gang-related crime; real estate appraisals; business valuation, lost personal income, and lost business profits; present value of defined benefit pension interest; and professional and legal malpractice.

Order two copies of this book: one for yourself and one for your expert witness. It will give experts the confidence they need to be comfortable in court, and give you the skills necessary to emphasize the credibility of your experts. You can avoid pitfalls such as unintentional signals, inappropriate demeanor and appearance, and awkward body language by using Expert Testimony: A Guide for Expert Witnesses and the Lawyers Who Examine Them as your guide. In this newly revised Fourth Edition, Elizabeth Boals and Steve Lubet provide counsel on the development and presentation of expert testimony in the digital age, including discussion of visual aids and electronic discovery; analyze the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; discuss the ethical rules governing expert retention and testimony; give examples of expert witness examinations and detailed discussion of techniques for coping with lawyer questioning; and provide checklists for quick reference. The collaborative effort of Professors Lubet and Boals has resulted in a new edition worthwhile to both the expert witnesses and the lawyers who examine them.

The admission of expert witness testimony remains one of the most contentious, critical, and interesting aspects of modern-day litigation process. This book examines the role of the expert witness, focusing on taking depositions, expert qualifications, admissibility of testimony, attorney-client privilege, Daubert, rules of discovery and evidence, selecting and presenting experts, and direct examination of experts.