by Sterling Anthony, CPP, expert witness, packaging, warnings, patent infringement, cargo loading & securement, insurance claims
Most packaging expert witnesses can claim a considerable number of years of experience in their specialties. That’s to be expected, since becoming an expert at anything requires an investment in time; therefore, what should differentiate among experts of similar lengths of experience? It’s the type of experience that determines relevancy.
An expert should bring a requisite amount of experience in whatever area is core to a given litigation; nonetheless, it’s possible for that experience to be too narrow. An expert can meet the expected length of experience in a particular industry, for example, and still not be the best choice (or even a good one) if all or most of that experience derives from a single company or institution. Such narrowness can foster myopia and thereby hamper the expert’s ability to creatively provide the attorney with services that reflect a variety of perspectives.
Even when the expert’s industry experience was gained from different companies, the specific job responsibilities deserve consideration. Managerial positions should be regarded as a plus, not only because of the demanded skills but also because of the involved participations and decision-making. Having on-the-job experience, in general, and managerial experience, in particular, should engender an attorney’s confidence that the expert has capabilities in teamwork, meeting deadlines, and producing results. The best experience weighs in heavily on the scales of the practical.
That is not to say that the theoretical should never factor into the scheme of things. That’s particularly true when the expert’s experience includes a stint in academia. Its best when the subjects taught directly relate to the litigation, but even if they don’t, having taught suggests an ability to organize information and to communicate it effectively, in both the spoken and written word. That ability is invaluable to the interactions between the expert and the attorney, and by extension, between the expert and third parties, the most important being a jury.
A question that’s always of relevance in the evaluation of an expert’s experience is: How long has the expert been an expert? It’s tempting to become enamored of an expert who promotes on having been involved in, literally, hundreds of cases. Notwithstanding that such an expert certainly knows the ropes, a caution might well be in order. If the long list is due to full-time work as an expert, or even if expert work constitutes the major portion of income, the expert is subject to being branded by opposing counsel as a hired gun. It behooves an attorney evaluating a full-time expert to probe for vulnerabilities, especially those that opposing counsel might claim are contradictory positions of the expert across different cases.
Once retained, an expert can prove to be an asset or a liability. To maximize the chances for the former while minimizing the chances for the latter, the savvy attorney assigns due diligence to the evaluation process. Given that attorneys sometimes operate under the tyranny of a ticking clock (for example, a deadline for declaring experts), it will benefit the attorney and the expert if the attorney always has a well-thought-out evaluation framework at the ready.
Sterling Anthony, CPP, is a consultant to the industrial, institutional, and government sectors and an expert to the legal community. He is a former manager at Fortune 100 companies and a former instructor at two major universities. His contact information is: 100 Renaissance Center-Box 43176, Detroit, MI 48243; (office) 313-531-1875; (cell) 313-623-0522; (fax) 313-531-1972; thepackagingexpertwitness@gmail; www.thepackagingexpertwitness.com