Engaging Experts

Our guest, Lisa Barnes is the owner and appraiser at Rare Art Appraisals and Art Consultancy. She specializes in appraising a wide range of items ranging from fine art to fine wine. She has nearly three decades of appraisal experience and is a sought-after expert witness. 

In This Episode . . . 

Ms. Barnes believes that the way an expert presents information is as important as the information being presented, explaining, “You need to be very simple and appeal to people [with] your language, your body posture.” She goes on, “When one simplifies it as an expert . . . you will be able to win. You [have to] know the people that you're trying to appeal to.” 

Other topics include intimidation in the courtroom, the expert-attorney relationship, and the importance of being on the ‘winning’ side of an engagement.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Alice Berkowitz has passed away since this episode was recorded. We are grateful for the opportunity to preserve and share her insights.

Dr. Alice Berkowitz is a clinical and forensic psychologist specializing in Parental Alienation. She runs Families Reunited, an intensive reunification program, and is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry. She is a sought-after expert witness and holds a PhD from USC. 

In this episode… 

Dr. Berkowitz uses a novel technique to lighten the mood during depositions, stating,  “I find that injecting some humor when you can as an expert always helps when you are getting started.” She notes, “It just makes light of things, and it helps me relax.”

 Additional topics include mentoring, avoiding chargebacks, and stalling. When Dr. Berkowitz needs a moment to collect her thoughts, she advises using these phrases,  "Could you repeat that again?" or  "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Could you ask that again?" She continues, " . . . I quickly learned that those were tools I could use.” 

Our guest, Dan Arthur is the Founder, President, and Chief Engineer of ALL Consulting and Energy, an industrial consulting firm. He is a registered engineer in 35 states, a published author, and a sought-after expert witness.  

In this episode… 

Dan remarks that getting the best result doesn’t always mean winning, “There's a lot of times it's not even about winning or losing . . . You want to do the best you can. Sometimes it's not up to [you]”. Other topics include ethics, continuing education, and vetting clients.  

Our guest, Dr. Joseph LaViola, is a professor of computer science at the University of Central Florida, and the Director of the Interactive Computing and Experiences Research Cluster. He is the founder of Fluidity Software and JJL Interface Consultants and a senior member of ACM and IEEE. 

In this episode…

Professor LaViola recommends sticking to the report during a deposition to avoid getting tripped up with leading questions: “You have your report in front of you and that's sort of your Bible . . . you're there to talk about what's in your report.”

Other topics include conflicts of interest, remaining an expert in a dynamic field, and the importance (or lack thereof) in winning, as LaViola states, “I tend to not look at whether the case is won or lost. Many of the cases that I've been on . . . at the end of the day, I'm looking for things that I feel I can contribute to.”

Our guest, Edward Yee, is the owner and senior appraiser at Penelope Dixon and Associates. He is an executive board member and president of the Appraisers Association of America, and a board member of the Photography Collection Preservation Project. He is a renowned expert in photography appraisals, archive valuation, and copyrights. 

In this episode…

“It's important to be calm. Remember your audience. You're there as an expert witness,” remarks Edward on the topic of demeanor in court. Additional topics include staying current in your field of expertise, witness expectations, and responding to opposing counsel.

Our guest, George Reis, owner of Imaging Forensics, a forensic analysis firm specializing in media including video, digital images, and photographs. He is a sought-after expert with dozens of engagements in the US and abroad. Additionally, Mr. Reis is the author of Photoshop for Forensics Experts. 

In this episode…

Cross-examination prep is important, according to Mr. Reis, “[the attorney] prepped me by asking rapid-fire questions . . . No time to get a break. No time to think.” He advises, “I do find sometimes I begin to talk fast, and I try to just remind myself, slow down a little bit.” 

Additional topics include continuing education, turning down cases, and being humble. Mr. Reis recommends, “ . . . knowing what you know and what you don't know . . . when you're writing a report, don't include something that you don't know.”

Our guest, Craig Schlumbohm is the president of Pacific Construction Analysts, Inc., a full-service construction consulting firm specializing in post-mortem cost analysis of construction projects. He is a sought-after expert witness in the construction field with decades of experience. Mr. Schlumbohm holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from San Diego State.

In this episode…

Topics include assessing cases and attorneys, as Craig states: “. . . if the attorney doesn't have a good handle on the case, it's hard for you to be a good expert.” Craig continues, “We don't take everything . . . there have been firms . . . that were asking us to do things that either we were uncomfortable with, or they had unreasonable expectations.”

Additionally, we go over friendly relationships with opposing experts, being on the losing side of a case, and realistic expectations, on which Craig asserts, “If the starting point is ‘the Titanic didn't sink’ you have problems.”

Our guest, Jean Acevedo, is the owner of Acevedo Consulting. She is a licensed healthcare risk manager, certified professional coder, and is a sought-after expert witness for matters of fraudulent billing and overpayment appeals in the medical profession. 

In this episode…

On vetting engagements, our guest, Ms. Jean Acevedo, notes “How do you vet to make sure that you don't take something that's a losing battle . . . because you don't want to find yourself two months in where you've wasted somebody's time and money.” To which she recommends, “make sure you're comfortable with what you're an expert [on]” and “know where you are not an expert.”

Additional topics include dealing with pushy attorneys, report writing, and taking a proactive approach to engagements, where she notes, “I've learned that I need to be curious . . . and not assume that because something wasn't stated by the lawyer, that it doesn't apply . . . it's up to the expert to know what he or she needs and to voice it.”

In this episode…
Our guests, Jonathan and Erik Bernstein own Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., which has been providing business continuity, reputation, and crisis management services since 1994. Today, we explore the challenges for, and techniques available for newer expert witnesses. 

On communicating with non-experts, Erik states, “I think it's important to use technical terms when they're the only term that applies, but I think it's very important and it's something we preach to clients, is a layperson needs to be able to understand. . .” Jonathan adds “. . . some judges are very critical of certain types of language.” 

We also cover connecting with new clients, the importance (or lack thereof) of academic credentials, and advertising expertise through publication, as Jonathan remarks, “[if] you want to be an expert, write a book. Then you're an expert . . . That's the way the public sees it. Or write a thousand blog posts on it.”

In this episode…

Our guest, Bill Gervasiis the principal systems architect at Nantero, a hardware innovator specializing in DRAM development. Additionally, Mr. Gervasi is a board member at Bridge to Connect, a non-profit that aids in developing first-generation STEM students. He has over 45 years of experience in computer systems design and analysis and is a highly sought-after expert witness with a focus on DRAM IP. 

Mr. Gervasi notes the importance of checking anything attributed to an expert, “The key takeaway was to verify everything. If a lawyer writes a part of the report, I am the one that owns that report, not the lawyer.” This is especially important when filling out details in an existing report, as he expands “. . . they had a skeleton for how they wanted the report to look in advance. And they needed me to fill in the technical detail.”

Additional topics include cross-examination, confidence in expertise, and responsibility. Gervasi states, “I quickly intuited probably the most important thing, which is ‘how do you coordinate with these guys?’ A lawyer is going to be a smart individual, but they're not technical. And that's what they're relying on me for.”