The FEWA e-newsletter is distributed twice a month – that’s 24 opportunities for you to contribute an article, news item or event notice for our newsletter! We are always interested to hear about your experiences as an expert witness and legal consultant, whether you are just starting out your career or are a seasoned expert. The Forensic Expert Witness is the perfect place to write an op-ed style article about it to share your insights with other experts, and gain visibility for your FEWA profile and expertise.

Submit your community editorial to the FEWA National Staff by clicking below or emailing info@forensic.org. Happy writing!

The Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA) is the only non-profit professional membership organization that verifies that each of its professional members has testified at least three times as an expert witness. FEWA is dedicated to the professional development, ethics and promotion of forensic consultants in all fields of discipline. FEWA provides professional education for experts of all levels of experience and also for those aspiring to be experts who have not yet testified, which spans all technical specialties.

Donato Pompo, CTC CMR CSI CDT MBA, ITS, CTS, CSS is an expert witness for ceramic, porcelain, and glass tile, stone, and terrazzo installation failures; inspectors located throughout North America. He has 35-plus years experience: installation, distribution, manufacturing, training. He is a Certified Ceramic Tile Consultant (CTC); a Construction Document Technologist (CDT); and a Certified Microbial Remediator (CMR). He is a Past Chairman of CTIOA Technical Committee and his affiliations: ANSI, ASTM, CSI, CTIOA, ISO, MIA, NTCA, TCNA. He specializes in mosaics, agglomerates, etc.; exterior veneers, paving, exterior decks, showers,pools, fountains, showers, steam rooms, commercial and residential. Learn more about Donato below. 

Your FEWA membership includes a number of benefits, including a listing in the FEWA Online Directory and an Enhanced Online Profile. Enhanced Online Profile allows members to improve their visibility to members of the legal community who are seeking experts by making effective enhancements. Are you making the most of your Directory listing? Do you have an Online Enhanced Profile? Take advantage of these benefits today!

One of the key roles of an expert in legal cases is testifying in court. As a newer expert, you will want to develop your effectiveness at giving expert testimony. There are a few guidelines to learn about the mechanics of delivering your expertise in a courtroom setting. Following these tips will also help you present yourself as a credible authority to the jury during your expert testimony.

For counsel, finding an expert witness who will provide high-quality insight is a difficult process. Their knowledge and integrity are crucial to the proper handling of a legal matter, yet no peer review system exists to judge their quality. In this feature, Jason Itri uses the context of his career as a radiologist and expert witness to explore the qualities that make a good expert witness and what litigators should be watchful for when seeking them out.

Often, your top choices for expert witnesses come to your case with experience testifying in similar cases or on related issues. While their experience can make it easier to integrate them into your own case, it can also present pitfalls if not adequately researched. 

Under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, an expert may testify on the basis of "scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge" if it "will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence," provided the testimony rests on "sufficient facts or data" and "reliable principles and methods," and "the witness has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case."

One fundamental principle of the law of obviousness is that it is improper to engage in hindsight – to use the invention described in the claim of a patent as a roadmap to find the various elements of that claim in the prior art, and to then argue that it was obvious to try to combine them. 

A competent expert witness is vital to cases involving economic damages and other financial calculations. However, the expert must be much more than just a mathematician, market analyst, economic guru or forensic accountant. The job of the expert is far from over once the facts are analyzed and the calculations are completed.

Did you attend the FEWA National Conference? Conference attendees earned up to 13.5 educational credits towards the Certified Forensic Litigation Consultant (CFLC Credential). FEWA Professional and Professional Consulting members are eligible to apply for the CFLC. Do you qualify for the CFLC? Learn more about the application requirements.