MD109-OOO - How to Write a Bulletproof Expert Witness Report
Category: Multidiscipline
Continuing Education: 7
Registration
Please see the "Upcoming Classes" tab for class offerings and registration information.
Course Description
Don't miss this chance to attend a full-day,
virtual course on
report writing from SEAK - the leaders in Expert Witness Training. This
interactive workshop will teach you how to draft superior expert opinion reports
and you will leave the class armed with an extensive, customized set of action
steps to help you write more powerful, persuasive and defensible reports. Each
attendee will be provided with a detailed course handbook containing practical
and specific bullet-point advice along with numerous examples of both poor and
effective report language.
Is this Course for a Multidiscipline Audience?
This course provides universal information about how to write an expert
witness report and is for any appraiser (whether they are BV, GJ, PP,
RP, ARM or MTS) who is interested in becoming an expert witness, any appraiser
who would like to enhance their expert witness report writing
skills, and/or any appraisers who would like to learn from a former trial
lawyer and expert in her field.
Instructional Methods
The course is taught using six methodologies: lecture,
questions and answers, well-written report excerpts, report writing exercises,
report critique exercises, and mock cross examination exercises.
Instructor
Nadine Nasser Donovan, Esq., is a former trial lawyer
with extensive litigation experience. She is a senior SEAK trainer and
consultant, and has been on the SEAK Faculty since 2002, having trained hundreds
of experts via SEAK’s scheduled courses, customized on site expert witness
training programs, and one-on-one consulting. Nadine is the coauthor of the SEAK
texts, How to Be an Effective Expert Witness at Deposition and Trial: The SEAK
Guide to Testifying as an Expert Witness; How to Write an Expert Witness Report
and How to Be a Successful Expert Witness: SEAK’s A-Z Guide to Expert
Witnessing. She is licensed to practice law in New York, Massachusetts, and
Rhode Island. In addition, Nadine is a Legal Writing Instructor at Boston
University School of Law. Nadine also serves as a Dispute Resolution Arbitrator
for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Nadine previously practiced
litigation for 21 years. She spent 18 years in the defense of medical
professionals in medical malpractice actions and before medical licensing
boards. Nadine started off her legal career in New York City, first as a
prosecutor in Queens, and then as counsel for the City of New York. Nadine
received her J.D. cum laude from Boston College Law School. She graduated from
Fordham University summa cum laude with a B.A. in French Literature. She can be
contacted at 617-791-4282 or nadine@seak.com
.
No prerequisites for this course.
Agenda
- Introduction
- How To Protect Your Report, Yourself, and Your Opinions from Daubert and
Other Admissibility Challenges
- Break
- How To Draft a Powerful, Persuasive, and Understandable Report
- How to Excel When Drafting Rule 26 Reports for Federal Court
- Lunch on Own
- How to Best Describe Your Document Review, Research, and
Investigation
- How to Make Optimum Use of Charts, Graphs, Timelines and Photographs
- How to Best Deal with Confounding Data and Studies and Alternative
Explanations
- How to Best Rebut Opposing Experts’ Opinions
- Break
- Discovery, Ethics and the Influence of Retaining Counsel
- Quality Control and Editing Techniques for Expert Witness Reports
- Questions and Takeaways
Learning Outcomes
After this class, students will be able to:
Describe techniques to protect yourself from having your
testimony limited or excluded;
List action steps to draft more powerful, persuasive and
understandable expert reports;
List the legal requirements for Rule 26
reports and
describe techniques for complying with these requirements;
List techniques to better document your document review,
research and opinions;
Describe when and how charts, graphs, timelines and
photographs should be used to improve an expert report;
List action steps to best document confounding data;
List techniques for effectively rebutting the opposing
expert’s report;
Describe best practices for communicating with and working
with retaining counsel; and
Identify protocols for editing and reviewing expert witness
reports.