Product Description
Expert witnesses can be the lifeblood of a lawyer’s case. This handbook applies recent pronouncements of the courts to the involvement of experts in civil litigation. It presents practical tips and techniques for lawyers with respect to the participation of experts from initial retainer, instruction, and report, to preparing experts to testify, leading experts’ evidence at trial, and cross-examination. In each chapter, the handbook uses court cases as examples of the points under discussion. Readers can see how case analysis applies to the role of experts in these cases.
Preface: Expert Witnesses in Civil Litigation: Use of this Handbook
Introduction: How Expert Opinions Fit into Civil Trials
Chapter One: Legal Principles
Chapter Two: Choosing and Retaining an Expert
Chapter Three: The Expert’s Report
Chapter Four: Preparing the Expert for Examinations
Chapter Five: The Direct Examination
Chapter Six: Cross-Examining the Experts
Chapter Seven: Redirect
Chapter Eight: Conclusion
Appendix: Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia Rules
Index
About the Author
“This guide…is very practical and geared towards filling in the gaps that academia did not fill for the young lawyer. It tells the reader what those other resources do not: consider whether the education or the experience of a selected expert will be granted more weight by the court; request that the expert report contain an executive summary; teach the expert the “may I explain?” tactic if she is going to be questioned in court; do not make the mistake of asking the opposition’s expert “one question too many” on cross-examination. … Hollander’s practical guide is scattered with real and fictional case studies and questioning samples. The young advocate dealing with their first case involving an expert will gain confidence from this short read.”
Anna Mahood, Canadian Law Library Review (2018) 43:1, 20
