Expert Witness Handbook (2e, CL [Hardcover]

Dan Poynter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997 | Series: Expert Witness Handbook

Now in a revised and updated edition, this useful guide explains how to succeed as an expert witness
-- In the 18 million lawsuits filed each year, at least two expert witnesses are needed to explain what happened or what should have happened

Veteran expert witness Dan Poynter describes the exact qualifications for the job, what an expert witness does, how to prepare effective testimony, how to answer hard questions, and what to charge clients. Peer-reviewed by more than 30 experts, attorneys, judges, and law professors, the new edition also includes a glossary of legal terms and a resource list of books, periodicals, and organizations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

* More and more businesspeople and professionals are discovering a new place to sell their expertise: acting as advisors to attorneys in complex legal cases.-Business Opportunity Digest * This handbook will tell you how to get started and how not to fall apart in the courtroom.-Rainbo Electronic Reviews * There is good reason to feel intimidated by the court system, but most everything you, as a potential witness, need to know to demystify it is contained in this book.-Journal of Ground Water * The chapter on what to expect at trial is, by itself, quite helpful, full of "nuts and bolts" techniques for being an effective expert witness, handling difficult or tricky questions, etc. The style is direct and informative.-California DUI Report * The book tells how to perform the job professionally-and successfully.-The Welding Distributor * A reference for the seasoned litigation consultant and a valuable introduction for the neophyte expert witness.-American Consulting Engineers Council News * This is definitely one book you will want to read.-Veterinary and Human Toxicology * Full of ideas and resources, The Expert Witness Handbook is chock-full of sample forms and letters, checklists, guidelines and advice.-Institute for Professional Competency * Read the book and/or hire the author to put on a seminar for you.-Consultants News * (EWH) will suggest many pointers that will save a lot of trouble down the road.-Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry Law

Business/Consulting Revised edition A Must Book for Every Practicing and Would-Be Expert Witness

As our society becomes increasingly complex, more and more attorneys and judges are calling upon consultants to explain how things happen. These consultants are expert witnesses.

The Expert Witness Handbook answers the questions: * What does an expert witness do? * What are the tough questions and how should I answer them? * How much does an expert witness charge? * How does an expert witness find clients? * How will I prepare for testimony? * What will happen in the courtroom? * How can I make my testimony more effective? * Where can I get more information? (Includes a huge resource section.) * and much, much more.

Only someone who has been there could list so many tip and techniques with such detail, clarity and understanding.-Eugene Wheeler, AICP, land use expert.

The chapter on what to expect at trial is full of "nuts and bolts" techniques for being an effective expert witness, handling difficult or tricky questions, etc. The style is direct and informative.-California DUI Report.

A very helpful, practical presentation for the neophyte expert witness as well as the experienced witness.-Oliver C. Schroeder, Jr., Director-Emeritus, The Law-Medicine Center, Case Western Reserve University.

The other side will do everything it can to question and reduce your credibility. Don't get mad; study this helpful book and be prepared.-James H. Kennedy, Founder and Publisher, Consultants News

Dan Poynter has served as a litigation consultant in the fields of parachutes and skydiving since 1973. His seminars have been featured on CNN, his books have been pictured in The Wall Street Journal, and his story has been told in U.S. News & World Report. The media comes to Poynter because he is the leading authority on how to succeed as an expert witness.

This book is not just for engineers, doctors or city planners. It is for every professional who wants an exciting new career as well as every expert witness who wants to serve more professionally and more successfully.

This revised edition is a valuable introduction for the neophyte expert witness and a constant reference for the seasoned litigation consultant. It tells you how to get started, how to decide whether or not to accept a case, how to prepare for testimony, how to conduct yourself at a deposition and in court, how to make your testimony more effective, how to handle difficult questions, what to charge, how to collect bills, and much more. You will use this resource again and again.

Here is your chance to: * Capitalize on your years of education and experience * Become involved in the challenge, drama and excitement of the courtroom

* Make a contribution to society, perhaps even change the course of history.

The numerous examples make this book easy to understand and delightful to read. The check-list style makes the book easy to follow.

This book will guide you in evaluating your own potential as a litigation consultant and it will show you how to perform your job professionally and successfully.

From the Author

[e-mail]

The Expert Witness Handbook is the "cornerstone" book for our line of expert witness products and services.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 287 pages
• Publisher: Para Publishing; 2nd edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568600275
• ISBN-13: 978-1568600277
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Law > Procedures & Litigation > Litigation

More About the Author

Dan Poynter is an author of more than 100 books, has been a publisher since 1969 and is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP).

He is an evangelist for books, an ombudsman for authors, an advocate for publishers and the godfather to thousands of successfully-published books.

His seminars have been featured on CNN, his books have been pictured in The Wall Street Journal and his story has been told in US News & World Report.
The media come to Dan because he is the leading authority on book publishing.

Dan travels more than 4,000 miles each week to share, inspire and empower writers, publishers and professional speakers through keynotes and seminars.

Dan was prompted to write The Self-Publishing Manual because so many publishers wanted to know his secret to selling so many books. Dan is one of the publishing industry's most energetic, experienced and respected leaders. He lives in Santa Barbara.

See http://ParaPub.com

As an author and a publisher, Dan Poynter sometimes reviews books that will be useful to others. He does not review books he can't recommend with a full five stars. He reviews books about his loves: book writing, book publishing, book promotion, parachute equipment, skydiving and (occasionally) business.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some info., but poorly structured and written, July 26, 2007

By 

G. Miller (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Expert Witness Handbook: Tips and Techniques for the Litigation Consultant (Hardcover)

This is a frustrating book. On the one hand, there is some decent information here. However, it is very clear that the author did not spend much time thinking about how to communicate that information. This really just feels like a first pass outline/data dump which then should have been revised, edited and revised again. I will list a few of the problems below, but this is not a complete list.
First, the overall structure just seems to ramble along without a real plan of building from one section to the next.
Second, within sections it seems like topics just change in the middle of the section. I found myself reading some sections two or three times trying to figure out what connecting theme I was missing. I finally asked others to look at some of these sections (without any other prompting) and found that they could not figure out what was going on either.
Third, information is often repetitive across sections. A point will be covered once and then later covered again without any reference to the prior discussion and without any further insights.
Fourth, paragraphs are sometimes repeated almost verbatim. For example, a paragraph may occur at the beginning of a section and then again near the end with almost no change. My guess is that the author was moving things around in a quick edit and/or tossing it down either place it could work with the idea of returning to it later.
Fifth, the book uses bold faced paraphrases or quotes from other sources at the bottom of each page. I guess these are a clever way to show others have a similar view without really needing to work it smoothly into the text. However, they often are redundant (in the first chapter one page has a quote saying going to trial without an expert is on the edge of malpractice, two pages later there is a similar comment that says it is malpractice - both are from the same magazine). Worse, the references provided in no way allow a reader to go find the source and look at it for themselves. For example, if a magazine is cited there is neither date given nor a title of the article. It might have been quick, but it was not the most useful for readers.

Moving away from the specifics, I guess this shows how the author could write "over 100 books" as it says in his bio. I did find it strange that he kept stressing how careful we need to be in writing reports, yet he did such a sloppy job here.

To be fair (and why it got two stars instead of one) there is some useful information in here if you are willing to skim through and not get hung up on the flow. In the end, this is probably one or two decent articles of information if it was put together well, not a whole book. Of course, this is also cheaper than a lot of the other "comprehensive" books on being an expert witness.

Would I buy it again? No, but I would check it out of the library to take a quick look.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid advice for the beginning expert., September 21, 2003

By 

R. Shaff "Velocipede" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Expert Witness Handbook (2e, CL (Hardcover)

Becoming a specialist in one's field is a typical goal when questioning one of his/her aspirations. In many cases, you'll receive the answer, "...to become the best." (Love those willing to lay it all out!) If one's goal is to be a specialist, one must adhere to a few simple principals, principals composing vigilant and unending education. This individual will be current, well read, and extremely competent (in significantly most cases) in their chosen field. Many would call this individual an "expert" in his/her particular field. An accurate characterization indeed yet still green where the legal community is concerned. Capitalizing on this expertise is the mantra of Dan Poynter's, THE EXPERT WITNESS HANDBOOK.

Many "experts" have no interest in utilizing their knowledge in a legal setting. Frankly, at times, I don't blame them. However, being an expert in a particular field has its limitations relative to continuing challenges. Thus, many experts seek new, invigorating challenges. Those who have chosen to become testifying expert witnesses have most likely found the invigoration sought for displaying your knowledge in a courtroom is one of the greatest tests of that knowledgebase and your ability to articulate it. A daunting combination to be sure yet incredibly satisfying. I've been providing expert consulting and expert testimony services for close to ten years now. To say it is still a challenge and one that moves my adrenals into high gear is an understatement. However, it is one of the great highs relative to intellectual discourse and can be extremely financially rewarding.

THE EXPERT WITNESS HANDBOOK is the bridge between being an expert in one's field and displaying that expertise in a court of law. Dan Poynter has provided those interested in taking this bold step with a basic set of guidelines and recommendations relative to turning one's knowledge into a new (part-time or, in some cases, full-time) career path. In the first chapter, "What is an Expert Witness?" Mr. Poynter identifies what an expert witness does and why. However, this chapter's high point is the answers to his question, Why would anyone want to be an expert witness? Mr. Poynter goes on to answer these in fine detail; I'll just provide the base answer. In order: 1) To capitalize on your years of education and experience; 2) To get into the action (See! This is what expert thrive on.); 3) To put something back into the system; 4) To be hired to study (nirvana for life students); and 5) To make money.

From the first chapter forward, Mr. Poynter lays out a relatively clean chronology of the steps necessary for a "specialist" to become an "expert." Although every chapter will be important and vital to the neophyte expert, there are several chapters I would like to highlight as being germane and crucial to the seasoned expert as well. Chapter 7, "Maintaining Competence," is an almost laconic albeit important chapter advising the expert to continue to learn. For those who are eternal students, this will not be an issue. However, as a friendly warning, if one jumps into the expert arena and feels as though "I've made it," disaster looms for laws relative to experts change constantly as do the standards and landscape of one's field of expertise. Take this chapter to heart.

Probably the most important chapter and one ALL experts can refer to in the future is Chapter 11, "The Trial," although Chapter 10, "The Deposition" runs a very close second. In "The Trial," Mr. Poynter takes 50 pages of this 231-page book to describe the process and provide poignant Q&A between an expert and attorney on direct examination and the dreaded cross-examination. Mr. Poynter provides an excellent description of the process, the requisite preparation, and the actual flow of one's testimony. Before and after each Q&A, he espouses his opinion and advice to the reader, advice to be well heeded in most instances.

Overall, this is an excellent treatise on entering the expert witness arena. One area, in my opinion, Mr. Poynter did not cover in sufficient detail was the need for the aspiring expert to understand various points of case law relative to each expert specifically, the Daubert decision and its progeny. Although the intent of Mr. Poynter's book most likely was describe in sufficient detail the steps one must take to become a competent expert, the Daubert decision (and its progeny) are tantamount to any expert's acceptance in a court of law. Regardless, Mr. Poynter has written a very solid book and one I would recommend highly.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but repetitious and needs a good editor, August 8, 2003

By 

Johnw "johnw1101" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Expert Witness Handbook (2e, CL (Hardcover)

The Expert Witness Handbook covers a lot of ground, from selecting the expert and impeaching opposing experts, to being deposed and giving trial testimony. The author is evidently well versed and very experienced in being an expert, and his opinions and anecdotes are laced through the book. This is both the strength and weakness of the book - the author's expertise in parachute accidents shows, but it also limits the overall usefulness. The repetition and poor grammar are more annoying. Because this book was published by the author, the lack of editing may be somewhat anticipated. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it useful, but a good editor could have tightened it up a lot.