Litigation Resources: Expert Witness Tools

The links below will take to you some general toolkits and resources pertaining to expert witnesses.  They're geared towards practitioners, not students, which is great because they're 1) meant to be practical 2) meant to be read by busy people.

Westlaw's Practical Law Litigation: Expert Toolkit (Federal)

Lexis' Expert Witness Resource Kit (Federal)

Ronald M. Sandgrund, Your First Expert Witness-Part I, Colo. Law., May 2011, at 93

So, you know you need an expert witness, maybe even multiple ones.  How do you find one beyond random Google searches?  Westlaw has the edge over Lexis in this situation.  While Lexis has databases where you can search expert CVs, finding them depends on 1) what they write in their CVs and 2) your skill in crafting Boolean searches to find appropriate experts.

Also!  Another checklist: Westlaw's Locating an Expert Checklist.

Westlaw's Expert Materials Databases

To identify experts, you have two options on Westlaw (Lexis is listed below): Expert Directories and Expert Profiles.  Check out Profiles FIRST.  You can expand the area of expertise to locate witnesses who have experience, for example, in boating accidents and accounting damages to help determine what's an appropriate amount of damages to claim in your client's boating accident case.

NB - DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE!

If you find a potential expert witness via Google (or Westlaw, or whever), your job is NOT done!!  OR, once opposing counsel has disclosed their experts to you, YOU HAVE WORK TO DO!

Medical Physicians

• Check the state licensing board to make sure their medical license is valid.  From here, you can often check ethical complaints against that medical professional, too.  How to find that?  You can Google terms like: Minnesota medical doctor license verification.  ALWAYS include your jurisdiction in your search terms!
• Has your doctor received money from pharmaceutical companies/drug device manufacturers?  How much?  When?  This can help you defend against OR discredit an expert.  ProPublica's (free & accessible) Dollars for Docs database will answer all those questions for you!
• Has the expert in question written about the topic at hand?  Search for their name in PubMed!

Other Types of Experts

• Lots of fields require a license (accountants, engineers, nurses, barbers, etc.) ALWAYS be sure to check the status of their license with their state professional board!
• Other types of scholarly articles can be found via JSTOR (which you have access to via UST), or ResearchGate (which you can get your own free subscription to).  Even it seems like a long-shot, just run the search in PubMed, in case they've authored/co-authored something with medical implications, too.

Sample expert witness retainer agreements can be found throughout Westlaw and Lexis.  However, the ones linked before also include Practice Notes, which give commentary on the various clauses, explanations for various phrases, and excellent warnings and advice for attorneys (and law students!)

Westlaw Sample Expert Retainer Agreement

Lexis Practice Note Sample Expert Retainer Agreement

Westlaw's Practical Law Expert Privilege & Confidentiality Considerations Checklist

Lexis' Expert Privilege & Confidentiality Checklist

Rutter Group Practice Guide: Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial National Edition: Expert Witness Disclosure and Discovery (Westlaw)

Lexis' Expert Witness Disclosure Practice Note

Links to other helpful resources:

• Moore's Federal Practice, § 26.23 Expert Witness Disclosure (Lexis)

Westlaw's Practical Law: Depositions: Deposing an Expert (Federal)

This lists out questions you should be sure to ask the expert being deposed!  Be sure to check this one out!  Lexis Practical Guidance: Depositions: Expert Witness Deposition Outline (Federal)

Westlaw's Practical Law Checklist: Defending an Expert Deposition Checklist (Federal)

Westlaw's Practical Law Practice Note: Depositions: Defending an Expert Deposition (Federal)

Lexis' Practical Guidance: Defending an Expert Deposition (Federal)

Lexis' Checklist: Depending an Expert Deposition (Federal) 

Daubert challenges (aka Daubert motions) seek to exclude presenting evidence by one expert (testimony or report) to the jury.  Named after the 1993 Supreme Court case, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., you can't effectively use experts without having some knowledge of how this case will affect your expert's admissibility.

Helpful links:

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26, Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery

• Westlaw FRCP 26, Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery
• Lexis FRCP 26, Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery

Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Testimony by Expert Witness

• Westlaw Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Testimony by Expert Witnesses
• Lexis Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Testimony by Expert Witnesses

• Westlaw Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993).
• Lexis Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993).

Westlaw's Practical Law Experts: Daubert Motions

Lexis Practice Note: Daubert Motion Standards Chart (8th Cir).

Lexis Practice Note: Daubert Motion: Making the Motion Checklist (Federal)

Links to other helpful resources:

• American Jurisprudence, The Daubert Challenge to the Admissibility of Scientific Evidence, 60 Am. Jur. Trials 1 (Westlaw)
• American Law Reports, Admissibility of opinion evidence as to cause of death, disease, or injury, 66 A.L.R.2d 1082 (Westlaw)
• American Law Reports, Post–Daubert Standards for Admissibility of Scientific and Other Expert Evidence in State Courts, 90 A.L.R.5th 453 (Westlaw)
• Federal Practice and Procedure (Wright & Miller), Rule 702. Testimony by Expert Witnesses, § 6266 Introduction (Westlaw)
• Federal Procedure, Lawyers Edition, § 80:211. Application of Daubert test, 33A Fed. Proc., L. Ed. § 80:211 (Westlaw)

Direct Examination

1 Expert Witness Checklists § 1:120 (3d ed.), Direct examination of the expert witness—General

Cross-Examination

Rutter Group Practice Guide: Federal Civil Trials and Evidence:  Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses