The Biggest Mistakes Medical Expert Witnesses Make: And How to Avoid Them
August 13, 2008 Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort |
Executive Summary
The vast majority of problems and difficulties that expert witnesses get themselves into are avoidable. This fast paced, interactive workshop will reveal the countless hidden traps and pitfalls experts face and provide practical advice on how to avoid each of them. This course will feature numerous hands-on mock trial demonstrations based upon materials pre-submitted by volunteer attendees. This in an intermediate level program and there are no prerequisites. It is designed for any person who currently serves as an expert witness or is considering entering this field.
Distinguished Faculty
The Honorable Joseph J. Maltese was elected as a Judge of Civil Court in 1991. From 1992 to 1996 he sat in both the New York City Criminal Court in Kings and Richmond Counties, as well as in the New York City Civil Court. In 1996 he was appointed by the Governor to act as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court pursuant to the Court of Claims Act. Judge Maltese now presides in Richmond County handling medical malpractice and product liability cases, as well as general civil matters. He serves on the Litigation Coordinating Panel which oversees complex litigations such as mass torts pending in more than one county of New York. Before coming to the bench, he was in the private practice of law for 15 years concentrating in civil and criminal litigation.
In addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree from the City University and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School, Justice Maltese has earned three Master’s degrees from: New York University, Touro College and the National Judicial College of the University of Nevada at Reno, where he is also a candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Justice Maltese teaches courses on scientific evidence to judges at the National Judicial College and teaches at the New York Judicial Seminars. He is a frequent lecturer to attorneys at continuing legal education seminars for the New York State Bar Association, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the Practicing Law Institute, the Richmond County Bar Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association, the Columbian Lawyers Association and St. John’s University School of Law. He teaches forensic scientists at Touro College and lectures law students at New York Law School and at Fordham University School of Law.
Joseph Maltese retired from the U.S. Army Reserve after more than 30 years of service in the active and reserve components where he served as an Armor Officer, an Intelligence Officer and as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. During his last seven years in JAG, he served as a military judge for the U.S. Army Trial Judiciary where he presided over active duty courts-martials in Germany, Panama and at several posts in the U.S.
Tuition
Tuition is
$495. Tuition includes continental breakfast, lunch with faculty
each day and a detailed conference manual.
Click here for registration information.
Continuing Education Information
Click here for Continuing Education Information.
Schedule
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
8:00-8:30Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30-9:15Websites
Many expert witnesses have websites. A website can be a
tremendous asset to an expert, but experts make many common costly
mistakes when creating and maintaining their website. In this
segment the faculty will review the most common and devastating
mistakes regarding expert witness websites and offer suggestions on how each
of these mistakes can and should be avoided. The faculty will also
critique the websites of attendees and conduct mock trial
demonstrations to show how devastating website errors can be.
Questions and Answers. Learning Objective:
List several techniques to construct more bullet-proof websites.
9:15-10:00CV's
As a document used to both promote your expertise and
by opposing counsel to attack you, your curriculum vitae is
crucially important. The faculty will describe the biggest mistakes
expert witnesses make regarding CVs and will offer practical advice on how
these mistakes could have and should have been avoided. Many of the
mistakes will be demonstrated with mock trial demonstrations of
attendees based upon their pre-submitted CVs. Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: Explain how to correct problem areas in your
curriculum vitae.
10:00-10:15BREAK AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY
10:15-11:00Researching,
Investigating and Forming Opinions
The more solid the process of forming an opinion, the
more believable and valuable that opinion will be. Expert witnesses commonly
make numerous mistakes when forming their opinions. The faculty will
explain each of these mistakes and how to avoid them. Included will
be memorable mock trial demonstrations based upon pre-submitted
reports from attendees which demonstrate the effect such mistakes
can have on an expert’s credibility. Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: Describe how to produce more defensible expert
opinions.
11:00-11:30Report Writing
An
expert’s report becomes part of her permanent record and has
critical importance to the case at hand and the expert’s credibility
going forward. A well-written report can help a case settle
favorably and boost the expert witnesses reputation. A poorly written report
will have negative consequences for the case at hand and the expert
witness. Along with reviewing the biggest mistakes made in this area
and how to avoid them, the faculty will demonstrate some of these
mistakes with mock trial demonstrations. Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: Identify ways to avoid costly mistakes in report
writing.
11:30-12:00Depositions
Since
most cases settle before trial, expert witnesses are far more likely to
testify at deposition than they are at trial. An expert’s
performance at deposition will be an important factor in the
settlement value of the case. In this section the faculty will
describe the biggest mistakes experts make at deposition and provide
suggestions for avoiding these mistakes. Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: Describe how to recognize and avert mistakes at
depositions.
12:00-1:00LUNCH PROVIDED WITH FACULTY
1:00-1:30Direct Testimony
Direct testimony is
the time where the expert witness must persuade the judge or jury to both
understand and believe her opinion. Direct testimony is fraught with
potential mistakes that the faculty will catalog and offer advice on
how to avoid. Some of these mistakes will be demonstrated by mock
trial testimony and video clips of actual experts testifying.
Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: List techniques to deliver
more persuasive and believable direct testimony.
1:30-2:00Cross-Examination
A
large part of cross-examination from opposing counsel’s perspective
is trying to get the expert witness to make a mistake. In this portion of
the course the faculty will provide a checklist of common mistakes
along with ideas on how to avoid each of them. Some of these
mistakes will be demonstrated by mock trial testimony and video
clips of actual experts testifying. Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: Describe methods to recognize and avert mistakes
during cross-examination.
2:00-2:45Marketing
Expert witnesses often make marketing mistakes which result in less effective
marketing and/or a needless diminution of the expert’s credibility.
In this segment faculty will list the biggest marketing mistakes
experts make, offer suggestions on how to avoid them and demonstrate
with mock trial demonstrations the difficulties that marketing
mistakes can cause on the witness stand. Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: Identify numerous techniques to more effectively
market your expert witness practice.
2:45-3:00BREAK AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY
3:00-3:45Practice
Management
The financial success
of an expert witness practice is often dependant on how well the expert
conducts the administrative portion of his practice such as office
management, document retention, fee setting, communications,
billings, collections, etc. In this segment the faculty will
describe the biggest mistakes experts make in practice management
and offer solutions on how to avoid these mistakes. Questions and
Answers. Learning Objective: Explain how to improve your practice
management procedures.
3:45-4:15Risk Management
Expert witnesses
unfortunately sometimes get themselves into trouble - criminally,
civilly and professionally. In this segment the faculty will review
the common mistakes experts make which get themselves into trouble
and will offer suggestions on how to avoid each of these mistakes.
Questions and Answers.
Learning Objective: Discuss several ways to
avoid potential liability associated with expert witness work.
4:15-4:30Takeaways,
Conclusion and Evaluation
The faculty
will address any final questions and elicit from the audience a
bullet-point list of what specifically they will be doing
differently in light of what was learned at the course. Learning
Objective: List concrete actions you will be taking to improve your
expert witness practice.