Articles and other resources from SEAK

• How Experts Can Obtain More Repeat and Word of Mouth Business
  
  
  
• SEAK IME Report Writing Checklist
  
  
  
• SEAK Expert Witness New Client Checklist
  
  
  
• How to Draft an Expert Witness Retention Agreement That Prevents Most Problems Experts Face
  More than 90% of problems that expert witness face are preventable.  This article details problems that can be easily solved through a superbly drafted expert witness retention agreement.
  
  

• Preventing and Dealing with Your Expert Witness Crisis
  Many expert witnesses/groups/firms/companies and individuals have built valuable businesses with substantial annual incomes.  These individuals, groups/firms are valuable assets that need to be protected from crisis and risk in a proactive manner.  Many costly crises at expert witness practices can be anticipated and prevented.
  
  

• Expert Witness Deposition Preparation
  Article - Expert witnesses are frequently inadequately prepared by retaining counsel for their depositions. In traveling across the United States and working with experts, this refrain and complaint has been expressed to the authors over and over again by experts from all disciplines. The size of the case does not seem to matter. Experts are ill-prepared by counsel in small, medium, and even large dollar cases.

• Never Lose Again: Become a Top Negotiator by Asking the Right Questions
  Three sample chapters and a list of all 50 negotiating questions contained in Never Lose Again: Become a Top Negotiator by Asking the Right Questions.  Using these questions will allow anyone to immediately and dramatically improve their negotiation skills.
  
  
• Forensic Firms Retooling
  Article detailing the fact that forensic companies across the United States are facing an increasingly severe problem, namely: the shortage of experts with experience in testifying at deposition and trial.
   
• The 5 Traits of a Dangerous Expert Witness
  A dangerous expert witness is an expert witness that puts fear into opposing counsel. The article describes the five traits of a dangerous expert witness.
   
• Expert Witness Cross Examination Questions
  The following outline describes some of the most important lines of inquiry opposing counsel may follow during cross.
   
• Expert Witness Fee Study
  The survey includes responses from over 1,000 expert witnesses in over 300 areas of expertise. This is the most comprehensive study ever conducted on expert witness fees.
  
  
• Medical-Legal Work Improves Physician Skills
  One of the best ways to sharpen your skills and help your patients is to serve as an expert witness.
   
• Top 5 Ways to Get the Most From Your Expert Witness Directory Listings
  Article detailing 5 ways experts can get the most from their directory listings.
   
• Top 5 Biggest Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Mistakes Expert Witnesses Make
  Article describing 5 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Mistakes experts commonly make.
   
• The Biggest Mistakes Expert Witnesses Make on Their Websites
  Common mistakes that experts make on their websites.
  
  
• Expert Witness Websites: Uninteresting, Unsupportable and Unsafe?
  Expert Witnesses often have someone from their marketing department design their website or hire someone to design it for them, without taking the time to review what they have written. Keep in mind that you are ultimately responsible for what is written and posted on your website. Do not let the marketing person ‘fluff-up’ your credentials, as your website is often the first place opposing counsel will go to dig up dirt on you.
  
  
• The 10 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Expert Witnesses Make and How to Avoid Them
  The most successful experts treat their expert witness practice as a business and develop a marketing plan after consulting with those with experience in the field.
   
• How To Start a Lucrative Expert Witness Practice
  An expert witness practice can be extremely lucrative.  Expert witnesses on average earn $250-$400 per hour for their time spent assisting lawyers. Start-up costs and overhead expenses for experts are usually very low. This article details the four steps professionals who wish to start a lucrative expert witness practice should follow.
   
• The 10 Biggest Mistakes Expert Witnesses Make During Depositions
  The discovery depositions of expert witnesses are increasingly playing an important role in the litigation process. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 (4) A: "A party may depose any person who has been identified as an expert whose opinions may be presented at trial." With this in mind, we turn to the ten biggest mistakes experts make during their depositions.
   
• Tips Paralegals Can Use To Select Expert Witnesses
  Choosing the "right" expert witness can be one of the most crucial decisions made when preparing a case for settlement and/or trial.  Experienced and successful paralegals follow a mental checklist in determining who to select as an expert witness.
   
• SEAK Expert Witness Deposition Preparation Checklist
  A great outline for expert witnesses
  
  
• Opinions and Bases of Opinions
  Excerpted from Cross-Examination: The Comprehensive Guide for Expert Witnesses
   
• Stating Opinions and Conclusions in a Defensible Manner
  Excerpted from Writing and Defending Your Expert Report
   
• Physicians Personal Career Inventory
  Many physicians are reconsidering their career choices.  As high as 20% of physicians are dissatisfied with their current practices and are contemplating leaving clinical practice or making significant career changes. Physicians who are considering a career transition are best served by taking a personal career inventory.
   
• The 10 Biggest Mistakes Physicians Make in Writing Their IME Reports
  The Independent Medical Evaluation (IME) reports that physicians prepare are playing an increasingly important role in workers' compensation cases, personal injury litigation, and long-term disability claims. Physicians are frequently called upon at depositions, hearings, or trials to support, justify, and defend each and every word of their IME reports.  With this in mind, we turn to the 10 biggest mistakes physicians make in writing their IME reports.
   
• The Most Common Insurance Pitfalls and How To Avoid Them
  Chapter excerpted from SEAK's book Bulletproofing Your Medical Practice
   
• Getting Started as an Expert Witness
  Interview with Steve Babitsky, Esq., President SEAK, Inc.