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Trial Practice Guidance Jury Trial Expert Testimony

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Best Practices for Preparing an Expert Witness for Deposition

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As a trial attorney, you’ll often enlist expert witnesses to evaluate claims, clarify complex evidence, write an expert witness report, and offer authoritative opinions. Because time and money can be tight during trial prep,...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Upcoming FRE 702 Amendment Reemphasizes the Admissibility Bar for Expert Testimony and Courts’ Gatekeeping Role

On December 1, 2023, the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) 702 will undergo several changes designed to reinforce federal judges’ role as gatekeepers for admitting expert testimony. The changes reinforce the preponderance of...more

IMS Legal Strategies

The Sky’s the Limit: The Many Ways Drone Footage Can Benefit Your Case

IMS Legal Strategies on

If you are like most attorneys, you think of drones in terms of their ability to capture images of large expanses of land and sea—and they are great for that purpose. But Andrew Buckley, trial consultant and a certified drone...more

IMS Legal Strategies

What Makes Your Expert Witness the Best Witness? Social Science Research Highlights the Roles of Credibility and Influence

IMS Legal Strategies on

Why Expert Credibility is Crucial - The adversarial nature of a jury trial leads many of our clients to ask, “Will my expert come across better than theirs?” This is a justifiable concern since jurors’ decisions about...more

IMS Legal Strategies

Witness Prep Goals, Credibility Factors, & Juror Comprehension – Episode 54

IMS Legal Strategies on

IMS Senior Jury Consulting Advisor Dr. Merrie Jo Pitera joins podcast host and IMS Client Services Advisor Adam Bloomberg to discuss the goals of witness preparation, what makes a witness credible, and how witnesses can...more

IMS Legal Strategies

Improving Expert Witness Credibility in the Eyes of the Jury

IMS Legal Strategies on

It comes as no surprise that when a witness is perceived as being credible, their messages will be more persuasive to the jury. Much academic research has been conducted to determine the primary characteristics that measure...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts: Follow the Seven Commandments

I participated in a recent LinkedIn discussion on expert witnesses, with some in the conversation noting that experts are often unprepared for testimony, and often unaware of the need for better preparation. And, to...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

The Research/Practice Gap: You Should Continue to Prefer Live Testimony

I recently visited one of the Meow Wolf locations, and my feelings about the immersive art installation tracked with the typical reactions: As vivid as the pictures are, they still don’t do it justice, and you have to be...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Address Anti-Expert Bias: 5 Ways

It has been a rough couple of years for science. Our newly-unmasked population seems to be more divided than ever about our ability to rely on science in applying systematic and neutral procedures in order to find reliable...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Countering the Bad Expert: Don’t Expect Jurors to Deliberate Past the BS on Their Own

In my opinion, it is one of the most interesting and important areas of social science at the moment. And if it’s not that, then it’s certainly the sassiest. A group of researchers has been focused on our susceptibility and...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts: Testify Remotely Without Losing Influence

So the expert has arrived in town for trial. Their testimony could come today…or maybe by Thursday, and it isn’t unthinkable that it could get pushed into next week. Meanwhile, the waiting, and the billing, continues. This is...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Avoid ‘Glass Houses’ Arguments When Comparing Experts

This is the general sentiment I sometimes hear when one side in an opening statement is talking about the other side’s experts...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

The Wrapper and the Contents: Cross Their Expert on Both Levels

One trait of jurors is that, at the start of a case at least, they are not already savvy about the case’s subject matter. So, how do they learn? Through expert testimony. They won’t necessarily just sign-on to an expert’s...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Address Science Denialism

It has been a tough year for science. On the social-science front, it seems that we have entered a phase where no one believes the polls. To conservative Trump supporters, the consensus of data showing the President well...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts: Use Counterfactuals

As of press time for this post, 173,094 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus. If the United States had followed the example of other developed countries by taking earlier and more decisive actions against the virus,...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Scientific Testimony: Don’t Rely on Shortcuts

As a twice-weekly blog writer focusing on the social science of legal persuasion, I am thankful that during this medical emergency, the research has kept coming. Even as restaurants, bars, beaches, and schools have been shut...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts, Know Your Eight Bases of Persuasion

What makes an expert witness persuasive to a jury? Is it their background and training? The work that they did on the case? Their communication skills in teaching the jury? The research suggests that expert influence depends...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Expect Science Views to Vary

Jurors sometimes need to grapple with science, and given the constraints of the trial process and the often-complex nature of the testimony, “grapple” is probably the right word. Whether it involves working through detailed...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts, Cultivate Awe

Remember Carl Sagan and the original show Cosmos? It was a beloved series in the late 70’s, not just for its accessible explanations of something as complex as the history of the universe, but also for its ability to evoke a...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Rehabilitate Your Lying Witness

It was another big moment yesterday as Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, testified publicly before the House Oversight Committee. Widely seen as an opening act prior to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts: Complete the Credibility Checklist

So you’re picking an expert witness for your case. What kind of person do you want? Someone with the highest credentials from the best institutions? Someone with a lot of on-the-ground experience in this area? Someone who is...more

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