Page 83 - Expert Witness

ings, so the new attorney then approaches the plaintiff’s attorney about a settlement. He continues to as-
sert that his client was unaware of any of the alleged activities, and publicity from the lawsuit and trial
would have a negative impact on his client’s practice. Betty goes back to the audit trail in the Quick-
Books provided for company A and shows that the CPA had changed transactions in order to hide the
misappropriation. The assertions of innocence are dropped but pursuit of a financial settlement contin-
ues. Betty’s client wants justice but understands that the cost of pursuing justice through the courts
might exceed any benefit he would receive. Eventually, the client agrees to accept $300,000 and the
CPAs share of ownership in company A in exchange for dismissing him from the lawsuit.

The journey through the discovery process continues, and Betty’s turn to be deposed arrives. She has
done this before and knows that a deposition is often more stressful than testifying in court. During court
testimony, the judge will keep testimony to relevant questions and her client’s attorney can object to a
question before she answers. Frequently, a deposition is more of a "fishing trip," and although her cli-
ent’s attorney may object to the form of a question, she still has to answer. Opposing attorneys may
badger, belittle, or attempt to confuse in order to get information. She reviews all the sources of infor-
mation in her report so they are fresh in her mind and realizes that remaining calm and taking her time to
answer is the key. Her deposition takes most of a day, and in the end, she wishes she had said a few
things differently, but her client’s attorney is pleased with her testimony.

Her client’s attorney then deposes the expert for the defendants. His main issue with her report is that
there was no proof that the QuickBooks company file hadn’t been tampered with prior to its delivery to
Betty and that the CPA/co-owner was the guilty one, not the manager/co-owner. Betty again uses the
Quick Books audit trail to verify that the only changes made were those made to cover up misappropria-
tion and that orders were made and checks were written by the manager/co-owner. This is further veri-
fied by the bank statements and the records received from vendors. Alternatively, he suggests that the
funds used were actually just loans to the defendants, even though no loan documents were prepared and
a loan was never discussed with, or approved by, Betty’s client. Her client’s attorney considers this ruse
to be easily cleared up in court.

As the date for trial approaches, the attorney for the remaining defendants begins dropping hints about a
possible settlement, but no offer is made. Betty and her client’s attorney spend time making easy-to-
follow exhibits for use during her testimony, and he reviews with her the questions he intends to ask and
the points he expects the opposing attorney will try to make.

The trial date eventually arrives and jury selection begins. All jurors and alternates are selected and giv-
en instructions by the end of the first day. The attorney had told Betty that her testimony would probably
begin the afternoon of the following day and may go into the third day so she spends the next morning
reviewing all records. As she is leaving for the courthouse, she receives a call from her client’s attorney
telling her that the defendant’s attorney has come forward with a serious offer for settlement, and the tri-
al had recessed for the afternoon. No settlement is reached, however, so Betty shows up the next morn-
ing to testify.

Her testimony takes most of the morning, and she believes she did a good job of explaining the proce-
dures she used during her investigation and the results thereof. After lunch comes cross-examination,
with opposing counsel trying to misrepresent some of the things she had said that morning and also try-
ing to get her to say that her results were not conclusive. Betty takes her time and allows her client’s at-
torney to object to the questions before answering. Above all, she knows not to take it personally.

When she is dismissed from the witness stand, she breathes a sigh of relief. Although she knows she
could be called back to the stand, she knows the worst part is over. One of the two company A employ-

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