AR123-WEB - Expert Witness Engagements: From First Contact through Payment

Registration

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Webinar Course Description

Litigation engagements are different from regular appraisal assignments. The appraiser must be aware of the legal privileges that apply to communications and properly document those communications. All communications with the client and attorney are discoverable. Conflicts must be considered and tracked before committing to an assignment. Engagement letters should be drafted with a view to necessary provisions and the fact that they will be produced in discovery and possibly used as a road map to deposition interrogation. 

Course Audience

Experienced appraisers who are interested in or retained for litigation matters.

Instructor Information

Brian P. Brinig , ASA | CBIZ Brinig Taylor Zimmer

Brian Peter Brinig, ASA, is an appraiser, a certified public accountant and non-practicing lawyer who has been performing business valuations and economic damages analyses for forty years. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Diego School of Law who founded a valuation firm in 1983 that was recently acquired by CBIZ-MHM, LLC. Brinig remains a Managing Director at CBIZ. Brian is the author of five technical books including Finance & Accounting for Lawyers, a legal textbook used as the basis for the graduate law class of the same title. Brian has testified as an economic expert witness in more than 100 jury trials across the United States in the last forty years.

Agenda

The following topics are covered in this course:

I. Introduction
1. Litigation practice is dramatically different from regular appraisal practice
2. Objectives of this program
II. The expert deposition
1. Definition
2. Deposition procedure
3. The attorney’s objective
4. The expert’s objective
5. Deposition preparation
6. Pitfalls for the expert
III. Techniques for Effective Expert Depositions
1. Understanding the deposition process
2. Ten Commandments for Effective Depositions
3. Sample questions
4. Good answers vs. bad answers
5. Tactics to assure success
IV. Different types of Expert Depositions: for trial vs. for settlement
1. Strategies in “for trial” deposition
2. Strategies in “settlement” depositions
3. Working with your client’s lawyer
4. Understanding the deposition process
V. Conclusion
1. Deposition is most important part of litigation practice
2. Most cases settle as a result of deposition evaluation
3. Make sure you are the “best” appraisal expert
4. Knowledge of tactics and strategies will assure that

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course,students will be able to:

• Define, summarize and explain the legal privileges applicable to appraisal work in litigation support and their effect on oral and written communications;
• Identify and discuss  the conflicts of interest in litigation related matters.  What is a conflict?  What cases can you accept and which must you decline?;
• Discuss and explain the strategies for initial communications with client and counsel;
• Analyze engagement letter issues:  who is the client?; description of assignment; fee provisions; arbitration considerations; limitation of liability; and
• Outline file documentation procedures essential for litigation matters.