Chapter 12 LAWYERS, EXPERTS, AND WATER LAW: ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
| Jurisdiction | United States |
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LAWYERS, EXPERTS, AND WATER LAW: ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
IRMA RUSSELL joined the faculty at UMKC in the fall of 2015 as the Edward A. Smith/ Missouri Chair in Law, the Constitution, and Society. Prior to coming to UMKC, she served as Dean of The University of Montana School of Law (from 2009 to 2014) and as the NELPI Professor and Director of the National Energy-Environment Law & Policy Institute at the University of Tulsa College of Law. Professor Russell is a former chair of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, the AALS Section of Natural Resources and Energy Law, and ABA Section of Professional Responsibility. She currently serves as the Liaison of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources to the Center for Professional Responsibility and the Publications Board of ABA Section on Dispute Resolution. She has served as the chair of the Professionalism Committee of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar and as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism and the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. She has also served as chair of the AALS Section on Socio-Economics, and as a member of the Publications Board of the Center for Professional Responsibility. In practice, Russell represented potentially responsible parties, government entities, lenders, and others on issues arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), wetlands designation, site mitigation, and other environmental issues. She was founding Chair of the Environmental Law Section of the Memphis Bar Association and as Chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Environmental Section. Professor Russell is an elected member of the American Law Institute, the Judicial Conference for the Tenth Judicial Circuit, and the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Professor Russell earned her J.D. from the University of Kansas. She clerked for The Honorable James K. Logan, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and engaged in private practice in Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee.
Working with experts is an important skill for lawyers in today's complicated world, whatever the context of practice. Lawyers reach out to experts in the practice of water law because the science of water is part of the mix, Numerous examples of interactions with experts and the need to comply with rules of professional conduct in this aspect of the practice. Lawyers rely on experts for a variety of scientific findings and protocols of federal and state agencies.
Expert witnesses play a crucial role in legal representations, including litigation, administrative adjudications, allocations, and other matters integral to water law. "The traditional role of the expert witness has been to assist adjudicatory bodies in finding out the "truth" in any given matter. The role has been molded by two primary factors: (I) the specific area about which the expert testifies is one in which he is in fact an expert, and (2) the area is beyond the average layman's scope of comprehension."2 The expert educates the lawyer in the technical aspects of science and facts. She can dramatize and emphasize the strong points of your case.
While experts are central to many areas of practice, their importance is amplified in the environmental context. "Because of the technological complexity of most environmental lawsuits, lawyers almost invariably have to rely on experts to explain the facts not only to the jury but to the lawyers themselves."3 The expert in the applicable field "can provide opinion testimony, chronicle the history and development of scientific knowledge, and explain society's current ability to cope with environmental problems. Moreover, experts can provide valuable background information to help the trial lawyer understand the specific problem at hand...
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