NITA Publications

Expert Testimony

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 as your guide.

Elizabeth Boals and Steve Lubet coauthored the Second Edition of Expert Testimony expanding and amplifying the original book with:

•   New guidance on the development and presentation of expert testimony in the digital age, including discussion of visual aids and electronic discovery
•   Updated analysis of the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
•   Updated discussion of the ethical rules governing expert retention and testimony
•   Examples of expert witness examinations and detailed discussion of techniques for coping with lawyer questioning
•   Checklists for quick reference

The collaborative effort of Professors Lubet and Boals has resulted in a Second Edition that is worthwhile to both the expert witnesses and the lawyers who examine them.

• >> TABLE OF CONTENTS
  CONTENTS
  
  CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTON
  A. Who Needs This Book?
  B. Expert Testimony
  C. Who Can Testify as an Expert?
  D. Admissibility
  
  CHAPTER TWO. CREDIBILITY
  A. The Expert as Teacher
  B. The Expert's Overview
  C. Decision Making
  D. Credibility Variables
  E. Appearance and Demeanor
  F. Off the Stand
  
  CHAPTER THREE. PREPARATION
  A. Introduction
  B. Issue Identification
  C. Information Transfer
  D. Data Development
  E. Organization and Presentation
  
  CHAPTER FOUR. DISCOVERY AND DEPOSITIONS
  A. Introduction
  B. Document Production and Written Interrogatories
  C. Discovery Depositions: Technical Details
  D. Discovery Depositions: Lawyers' Goals
  E. Discovery Depositions: What to Expect
  F. Witness's Role: Coping with Counsel
  G. Making the Record
  H. Evidence Depositions
  
  CHAPTER FIVE. DIRECT EXAMINATION
  A. Introduction
  B. The Role of Direct Examination
  C. Offering Expert Testimony
  D. Clarity and Credibility
  E. Objections
  F. Redirect Examination
  
  CHAPTER SIX. CROSS-EXAMINATION: THE BASICS
  A. Introduction
  B. Lawyers' Goal: Control
  C. Witness's Perspective: Teach and Explain
  
  CHAPTER SEVEN. CROSS-EXAMINATION: WHAT TO EXPECT
  A. Introduction
  B. Lawyer's Preparation
  C. Challenging Credentials
  D. Obtaining Favorable Information
  E. Learned Treatises
  F. Impeachment
  G. Challenging Impartiality
  H. Omissions
  I. Substituting Information
  
  CHAPTER EIGHT. CROSS-EXAMINATION: HOW TO COPE
  A. Introduction
  B. Redirect Examination
  C. Responding to Cross: General Principles
  D. Responding to Cross: Types of Questions and Answers
  E. Responding to Cross: Trick Questions
  
  CHAPTER NINE. ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM
  A. Introduction
  B. Independence and Objectivity
  D. Loyalty and Conflicts of Interest
  E. Fees
  F. Discovery
  G. Trial Conduct
  
  INDEX

• >> AUTHORS
  
  
  • Steven Lubet
    
    
    • Steven Lubet is the Edna B. and Ednyfed H. Williams Memorial Professor of Law at Northwestern University, where he directs the Bartlit Center on Trial Strategy. He teaches courses on legal ethics, trial advocacy, and narrative structures. A prolific author, Lubet has written more than fifteen books and over a hundred articles on legal issues such as legal and judicial ethics, litigation, legal history, international criminal law, dispute resolution and legal education. His textbook, Modern Trial Advocacy, is used by over ninety U.S. law schools and has been translated or adapted for use in six other countries. In addition to his scholarly and legal writing, Lubet's humor and opinion pieces have appeared on the op-ed pages of newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsday, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Detroit Free Press, and many others. He writes an award-winning column for the American Lawyer Magazine, and his satirical commentaries have been heard on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. Lubet received his B.A. in history from Northwestern University (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1970 and his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 1973. Prior to joining the faculty at Northwestern in 1975, Lubet was an instructor on legal research and writing at DePaul University School of Law and a staff attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago.

  
  

  • Elizabeth Boals
    
    
    • Elizabeth Boals is the associate director of the Trial Advocacy Program at Washington College of Law. Her areas of specialization include criminal and civil trial advocacy, pretrial civil litigation, and criminal law and procedure and evidence. She is a member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) faculty, author of several books, and lectures frequently. Before joining the faculty at WCL, she worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she was an attorney with the Employment and Labor Law Division, representing the agency on alleged violations of Title VII for the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. She was a partner at Lay, Ippolito and Dillard, PLLC, and, prior to that, an attorney at Zwerdling, Paul, Leibig, Kahn, Thompson and Wolly, P.C. She began her legal career as an assistant public defender in the Office of the Public Defender in Alexandria, Va., defending a felony caseload consisting of clients in all stages of litigation before the General District and Circuit Courts for the City of Alexandria and Virginia Court of Appeals.