Expert Testimony Do's and Don'ts

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we've reached our final module. Expert testimony Do's and dont's

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as you can see. And as we've talked about, there are a lot of really

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important things that you have to do throughout the process of

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being an expert witness and things that you need to prepare for a lot of technical knowledge that you need tohave,

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um, preparation that you need to know about and steps to take during the process. But

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some of the you know, distilling down the most important things

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to do. First, prepare Feli. Be as prepared as you can be. You should know this case inside now better than anybody.

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You want to review your report,

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your documentation, your case notes. Make sure that you understand everything and are prepared for any questions that could be asked

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some of the kind of basic things. Get a good night's sleep

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dress professionally.

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You wanna look the part

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and listen, think respond.

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This is a really important

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formula because you want to make sure that you listen to the question being asked.

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You think about your answer

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and then you respond

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because you only get one shot to answer a question,

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be polite and keep your emotions in check.

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The attorneys on the opposing side are gonna try to rile you up. They're gonna try to get you upset or they're going to try to challenge your work.

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They're going to try to make you feel bad or look like an idiot or look like you're incompetent. It's very important that you keep your emotions in check

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and that you're polite.

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Follow the instructions of your council.

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Count your attorney. The attorney you're working for is your best friend in the room. When you're testifying,

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follow their instructions, do what they say.

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Ensure that there that you're working in their best interests.

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I always like to meet with my council before testimony the night before the day before practice. Talk through what you're going to talk about, understand their theory of the case, understand what they're going to do and what they're gonna say

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and

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share the questions that you want them to ask you.

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So make sure you're fully prepared that you understand. Meet with your counsel before testimony

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carefully consider your words before responding

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again. That goes back to the think

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and then respond.

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So you wanna listen, think, respond and you wanna be careful and consider your words carefully.

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You want to make eye contact with the judge of the jury

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and the questioning attorney, even if that's the opposing attorney

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that

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I contact provides both

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a

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relationship and allows

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you to really be persuasive.

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But it's also just a respect thing.

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Show up early. Make sure you're there. You don't wanna be showing up late. You don't wanna be the reason that the court is waiting around

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and you want to show up early. You wanna make sure that you're there on time so that if anything

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is going to change,

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you've had that opportunity toe

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meet with your attorney or understand or

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be prepared for the testimony.

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Finally, you wanna make sure that you explain any technical jargon. Remember that the people you're talking to are not technical.

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They're not gonna understand maybe what Sadah

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satya means.

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So you want to explain technical jargon?

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On the other hand, there are several things you don't want to do.

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You don't want to guess on an answer. There are no points for guessing.

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Guessing is where you get yourself in trouble.

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Don't show up late. Showing up late

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can be very detrimental. It reflects very poorly on you as the expert,

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and it can derail and distract the

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court from

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following the case properly.

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Don't talk to anyone other than your council. When you're there, you don't know who's on the jury. You don't know who's

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the opposing side might be. You may not have ever met thes people before, so you don't want to talk to anybody other than your counsel.

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Don't lose your cool. Losing your cool is

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one of the worst things that you can do because

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you then lose all of your credibility.

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As we said,

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don't answer a question with more information than is necessary.

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The question is a yes, no question. Answer. Yes, no, don't provide any additional information unless it's asked for.

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And don't use overly technical language if you can.

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It's easier again for

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people who are not technical. They're gonna need to understand what you're talking about. So if you talk, start talking about

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chip off technology. Chip off technology being technology, the concept that you can take the chip off of a mobile phone