You are invited to attend the 2021 FEWA National Conference, either in-person or live-stream, June 11-12, 2021 in Bellaire, Texas. The two-day conference will feature a wide range of dynamic sessions, designed with you in mind. It’s a conference For Experts and Attorneys, Presented By Experts and Attorneys. Experts, forensic consultants, attorneys, paralegals, appraisers, and other legal professionals of all specialties and experience levels will benefit.

FEWA is excited to announce a new Forensic Expert Certification, the Master Certified Forensic Litigation Consultant (MCFLC) credential. The MCFLC was established in 2020 for qualified expert witnesses and forensic consultants who want to take their CFLC certification to the next level. Obtaining the MCFLC credential shows attorneys and other interested parties that you have received extensive education in the nine distinct areas of the FEWA Core Program, as well as gained additional experience and attributes above and beyond the CFLC program.

FEWA Member, Dr. Stephen Castell, Chartered IT Professional and Member of the Expert Witness Institute, shares his thoughts and evidence-based research on Blockchains and Stablecoins in this issue’s Member Editorial Corner. Dr. Castell is Chairman of CASTELL Consulting and is an internationally acknowledged independent computer expert who has been involved in a wide range of computer litigation over many years.

Kenneth Free, FEWA member and Straightline’s Principal, can oftentimes be an excellent hospitality expert witness. Over the years he has served as an expert witness before judicial bodies in about half of the 50-states of the USA, as well as in many U.S. Federal Courts. He has also been engaged as an expert in Canada, France, Egypt, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and British West Indies. Mr. Free can be a solid expert witness for hotel disputes because of his deep real-world experience, his academic credentials, and his demeanor of credibility. Read more about Kenneth below. 

The purpose of the free initial discussion is to determine if and how an expert witness can help you in clarifying the technical and scientific issues, thus giving you the advantage for your case. The initial conversation with experts can help you determine if you have the right expert discipline in mind. The attorney can benefit by gaining better technical knowledge or clarification on the case without obligation.

As of 2019, millennials (those born between 1981-1996), have become the largest adult population group in the United States, totaling 73 million people. But what does this mean for juries? It’s a well-known fact that success in litigation depends not just on what information is presented, but how it’s presented to and processed by the jury. Jurors process and interpret information based on a multitude of factors—age being one of them. Even though considering the age of a jury may be a weighty, loaded question, it is also one that invariably has a massive effect on the outcome of a case.

As many of you know, burnout is an increasingly serious problem for physicians, affecting over 50 percent of clinicians in some studies conducted before our current COVID-19 pandemic.  In fact, in an interesting study, one of every four physicians is looking to do some non-clinical work, in part, to ease the stress of today’s clinical practice. In one survey just completed, more than 48 percent of physicians reported that since the COVID-19 crisis, they felt it necessary to rethink their careers or practice seriously.

Serving as an expert witness during a lawsuit often extends beyond writing an initial report or giving testimony at deposition or trial. Expert witnesses may also be asked to evaluate the reports generated by an opposing party’s expert witness and to raise issues they find in that report. The resulting document is known as a rebuttal report.

Is cross-examination an art? Is it a science? Whatever it is, do most lawyers know how to handle it effectively? I can say from what I have seen in more than 40 years of practice that many lawyers make a mess of it.