I. Introduction

• Library: Professional Responsibility in Litigation (ABA) (2016 Ed.)

I. Introduction

Trial lawyers need expert witnesses to effectively represent their clients. Many cases could not be tried without expert witnesses to testify as to the applicable standard of care, the reconstruction of accidents, custom and practice in an industry, or the value of a plaintiff's damages. In other cases, lawyers hire consulting experts to help them learn and understand critical concepts or issues, or to prepare them to do battle with the other side's experts. There is nothing sinister or inappropriate about the ubiquity of expert testimony. Numerous fields and disciplines have long included forensic specialties. Courts recognize that "[f]or litigants to have access to experts it may be necessary for some experts to concentrate on litigation."¹

Many pressing expert witness problems concerning expert testimony have received due judicial attention. Trial courts are now sensitive to the significant problems posed by unqualified expert witnesses and by expert testimony that is unreliable...