COURSE DESCRIPTION
Experts play a vitally important role in civil litigation, whether they act as consulting experts or also as testifying experts. The complexity of modern litigation has substantially increased the pressure on attorneys to carefully evaluate the suitability of experts for a particular case and prepare them for testimony. Approaching, evaluating and preparing witnesses, however, is as much an art as science or database search. Furthermore, once an expert is selected, there are substantial risks surrounding discovery and preserving the attorney-client privilege. This program will provide you with a practical guide to selecting and preparing experts in civil litigation.
- How to find the right expert witness and common traps
- Evaluating the suitability of experts for your case
- Consulting v. testifying experts
- Approaching and retaining experts
- Preparing witnesses for testimony in a specific case
- Practical tips on the best/worst uses of particular types of expertise in litigation
- Discovery issues and preserving the attorney-client privilege
Speaker:
Shannon M. Bell is a member with Kelly & Walker, LLC, where she litigates a wide variety of complex business disputes, construction disputes, fiduciary claims, employment issues, and landlord/tenant issues. Her construction experience extends from contract negotiations to defense of construction claims of owners, HOAs, contractors and tradesmen. She also represents clients in claims of shareholder and officer liability, piercing the corporate veil, and derivative actions. She writes and speaks on commercial litigation, employment, discovery and bankruptcy topics. Ms. Bell earned her B.S. from the University of Iowa and her J.D. from the University of Denver.