SEAK Dangerous Expert Witness, June 2005

SEAK Dangerous Expert Witness, June 2005

Preconference
How to Become a Dangerous Expert Witness	Schedule
Four Points by Sheraton Hyannis Resort Hyannis, Massachusetts	Faculty
June 15, 2005	Hotel and Travel Information
	Registration Info
Expert Witness Directory	Registration Form
	PDF of Brochure
Executive Summary Dangerous experts are the most sought after and valuable of all experts. Dangerous experts are those experts who are highly resistant to attack, who know how to defeat counsel's tactics, are skilled at persuading a jury, and who recognize when to seize the moment and turn the tables on opposing counsel. This course will teach its attendees how to become dangerous expert witnesses. How to Become a Dangerous Expert Witness is an advanced, fast-paced, interactive workshop designed for experienced experts who have already had some formal expert witness training. It is taught by an experienced faculty and features concise didactic presentations coupled with numerous interactive, hands-on exercises. There will also be ample time set aside in each segment for questions and answers. Each registration includes a continental breakfast and lunch with faculty, a workshop manual not available anywhere else and a unique, memorable, educational experience.
Learning Objectives At the completion of this workshop you will be able to: � Insulate yourself from attacks by opposing counsel, � Formulate "bullet-proof" opinions, � Defeat opposing counsel's deposition tactics, � Hit a home run during your direct testimony, � Defeat opposing counsel's cross-examination tactics, � Truthfully and artfully answer trick and difficult questions, � Turn the tables on opposing counsel and "stick the knife in", and � Much, much more.
Faculty: Steven Babitsky, Esq., is the President of SEAK, Inc. He was a personal injury trial attorney for twenty years and is the former managing partner of the firm Kistin, Babitsky, Latimer & Beitman. Mr. Babitsky is a prolific writer on expert witness issues and is the co-author of the texts Cross-Examination: The Comprehensive Guide for Experts, Writing and Defending Your Expert Report: The Step-by-Step Guide with Models, How to Excel During Cross-Examination: Techniques for Experts That Work, The Comprehensive Forensic Services Manual: The Essential Resources for All Experts, 2004 National Guide To Expert Witness Fees and Billing Procedures and How to Excel During Depositions: Techniques for Experts That Work. Attorney Babitsky is the co-developer and trainer for the "Testifying Skills Workshop" seminar, the seminar leader for SEAK's Annual National Expert Witness Conference (now in its 15th year), and the scriptwriter for the videos "The Most Difficult Questions For Experts: With Answers " and "The Expert Deposition: How to Be an Effective and Ethical Expert," "Cross-Examination: How to Be an Effective and Ethical Expert Witness," and "Winning over the Jury: Techniques for Experts That Work." Mr. Babitsky has trained thousands of expert witnesses. Registration Information: The $295 tuition includes a continental breakfast, breaks, lunch with faculty, workshop manual, and a unique and practical hands-on learning experience. We expect this workshop to sell out early. To register, please click here.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005

8:00-8:15	Introduction
8:15-9:15	Bullet-Proofing Yourself: In order to become dangerous, an expert must deny opposing counsel's ammunition to attack the expert's credentials and credibility. This segment will identify a check list of potential areas of attack that experts may be subject to regarding their credentials and credibility including: problem language on CVs, skeletons in the closet, past testimony, controversial associations, missing credentials, etc. The faculty will provide specific advice on how to insulate yourself as much as possible from these attacks before you ever take the stand. Questions and Answers.
9:15-10:00	Bullet-Proofing Your Opinions: Dangerous expert witnesses express opinions that hold up under the most rigorous scrutiny and cross-examination. This segment will identify the most common ways in which opposing counsel is able to poke holes in an expert's opinion and provide specific action steps to bullet-proof your opinion including, learning how and when to say "no" to retaining counsel, buttressing your opinions with research, conducting a thorough investigation, staying within your true area of expertise, case selection, etc. Questions and Answers.
10:00-10:15	Break - Networking Opportunity
10:15-11:15	Defeating Opposing Counsel's Deposition Tactics: Most cases are won and lost in the discovery phase. The expert's deposition is a crucial component of discovery. The rules under which a deposition is conducted are much different than the rules that apply at trial. For example, there is no judge present at a deposition and the grounds for objection are far more limited at deposition than at trial. In this segment, experts will learn advanced techniques for defeating 25 of opposing counsel's tactics used to trick and trap an expert at depositions. Many of these tactics and defenses will be demonstrated with student participation. Questions and Answers.
11:15-12:00	Hitting a Home Run During Your Direct Examination: Experts typically obsess about cross-examination and worry (and prepare) far less than they should for direct examination. Dangerous experts understand that their direct examination testimony is probably more important in most cases than their cross-examination testimony. In this section, a concise lecture on advanced direct examination strategies for experts will be followed by short interactive demonstrations where student experts are asked to provide direct testimony and this testimony is critiqued by the group and judged on understandability, persuasiveness, style, and the all important "intangibles." Questions and Answers.
12:00-1:00	Lunch (Provided with Faculty)
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm	Defeating Opposing Counsel's Cross-Examination Tactics: Experts can expect opposing counsel to use numerous tactics, fair and unfair, to attempt to twist and spin the facts and attack and degrade the expert. Dangerous experts are prepared to defeat opposing counsel's cross-examination tactics. In this segment, experts will learn advanced techniques for defeating 25 of opposing counsel's cross-examination tactics. Many of these tactics and defenses will be demonstrated with student participation. Questions and Answers.
2:00-3:15	Truthfully and Artfully Answering Trick and Difficult Questions: Good experts often do very well while testifying except for one or two trick or difficult questions which they are unprepared to answer and stumble on. Dangerous experts have mastered the techniques for identifying and responding to trick and difficult questions. In this segment, experts will learn advanced techniques for identifying and responding to trick and difficult questions. These techniques will then be demonstrated and students tested and critiqued on their skills as the instructor asks numerous difficult trick and difficult questions to class members. Questions and Answers.
3:15-3:30	Break and Networking Opportunity
3:30-4:15	Sticking the Knife In: The most dangerous of all experts are those experts who are able to turn the tables on opposing counsel and "stick the knife in." These experts are particularly dangerous as opposing counsel is quite likely to lose far more ground during cross-examination that she is to gain. In this section the faculty will explain several techniques on how and when seize the opportunity to turn the tables on opposing counsel. Each of these techniques will be demonstrated by brief interactive cross-examination demonstrations using students in the class. Questions and Answers.
4:15-4:30	Takeaways and Conclusion: The instructor will take any final questions and solicit from the group a concise set of practical "bullet point" takeaways based on what was learned in this workshop.