What Do attorneys Consider When Hunting for professionals?

Knowing what attorneys think and consider can guide your efforts at getting them to notice you. Some things are more obvious than others. For example, if an attorney has a high profile murder case or a $100 million civil liability case, he probably wants an expert with an established reputation, testimonial qualifications, impeccable credentials, a good number of years in the specialty, and quite possibly a PhD. Because litigation experience is such a big priority, attorneys ask other attorneys for recommended expert witnesses.
Some of the subtler considerations made by attorneys will be reflected in the choice between an academic and a hands-on expert. For example, in a civil suit involving the failure of a blood infusion pump in a hospital's coronary care unit, a hands-on engineer who regularly repairs such devices at the hospital may be more valuable to the case than a PhD in biomedical engineering who designs them. The repair engineer can speak to failure fees, rates of service, and the hands-on issues involved in a hospital. An academically trained bioengineering device designer might be less useful to the particular case because his or her expertise is in rates of flow in the pump, not failure rates.
What does this mean for you? If you have hands on industry background, your marketing strategy should emphasize the benefit you can bring to cases that rely on applied expertise and experience. If you have substantial academic expertise, emphasize your book-knowledge and teaching skills for cases relying on theory or design.
attorneys prefer experts who are resistant to Daubert challenges. Based on the Supreme Court ruling in the Daubert case, this could be you if:
* You or the methodologies used in your work have been published in peer reviewed publications.
* Your peers accept your methodologies.
* You are meticulous in your approach to ascertaining and considering a wide range of possibilities.
* Your approach to data analysis is extremely thorough; this will satisfy the lawyer who realizes that courts look toward both qualitative and quantitative adequacy of data in expert investigations.
I'll expand further on Daubert fundamentals and requirements in later lessons on expert reports, depositions, and trial testimony. Your appreciation of Daubert principles and your ability to apply them will help attorneys decide that you are the expert for them.
Beyond all the technical and professional experience you may have, you must also be personable. Over the course of a case, your retaining attorney will spend time with you on the telephone, meeting with you in conferences, working with you on affidavits or declarations or reports, and on preparing you for testimony. If you are a bore, and the attorney can't enjoy a meal with you, he will likely engage another, more personable expert. So put your best foot forward when you do meet attorneys for possible expert witness work.
Attorneys explain sociability and likeability at your first meeting as a big plus for a hiring decision. As a first consideration, an attorney thinks about the impression you may have on jurors.