Page 37 - Expert Witness

Phase Activity Phase or Activity Description Practitioner’s Potential Services
timony

 Rebuttal of opposing expert
testimony

 Witness preparation

Pretrial Prior to the trial, the disputes may be
narrowed by using information ob-  Trial preparation
tained during discovery, through court
hearings, and by rulings made and or-
ders issued by the judge as a result of  Trial demonstratives
numerous pleadings, motions, and ob-
jections registered over the course of  Settlement and resolution sup-
litigation port

Pretrial conference In most federal cases, a conference is
ordered prior to the commencement of  Settlement and resolution sup-
the trial to encourage the parties to set- port
tle their disputes
Settlement Settlement of all or a portion of the
litigated dispute may take place at any  Settlement and resolution sup-
time during the litigation process. Set- port
tlement occurs when the disputing par-
ties agree on the outcome and resolu-
tion of the claims in the complaint.  Settlement assistance
Trial The trial can be either a jury or bench
trial (a judge serves as the trier of fact).  Jury selection

Direct examination Direct examination is the initial ques-
tioning of a witness at the trial by the  Expert witness testimony
attorney who calls the witness for ex-
amination. Direct examination consists
of a series of questions designed to  Witness preparation
solicit admissible evidence from the
witness in the form of responsive tes-  Analysis of opposing expert
timony and other materials. testimony
Cross-examination The initial examination of a witness by
the opposing legal counsel, cross-  Opposing expert cross-
examination follows the direct exami- examination assistance
nation. The opposing attorney can use
leading questions that are prohibited in
direct examination, and frequently,  Trial preparation
deposition testimony is used to impugn
the witness.  Witness preparation

Post-trial After the trial is concluded, a number
of activities may occur, including ap-  Calculation of beneficiary al-
pealing adverse decisions or calculating location
and distributing monetary damages.
 Distribution of judgments and
awards

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