If your website appears on the initial page of the Google or Yahoo search engine results, then you may not need any extra visibility. If you are not yet as busy as you’d like, here are some alternative techniques that you can use. Lawyers will look in several places to find experts.
* universities where you teach or do research
* membership rolls of professional or technical societies
* large companies that specialize in your specialty
* other Lawyers with whom you have worked
* smaller but highly reputed consulting firms
If any of these locations maintain their own copies of your credentials or CV, make note of each location and keep your data current in their copy. Tell everyone you know about your interest in expert witness opportunities.
Apart from my own website, internet registries and intermediary organizations are two of my favorite techniques for getting expert witness jobs:
1. Your main visibility on the web for expert witness jobs is your own website. This is essential for experts at any qualifications level. It is inexpensive and can readily help experienced experts to maintain a busy schedule.
2. Internet Registries can help build and maintain a work level for professionals with limited to moderate background. The cost is nominal and registries provide a valuable adjunct to your website, especially if your own website has no significant search engine visibility.
3. Intermediary organizations are an excellent choice for beginning professionals with no contacts in the legal arena. These companies offer the easiest way to establish a new expert witness presence with attorneys. They can also maintain a long term job flow with no promotional efforts required on your part.
Let’s talk about those Internet registries. Although I list all of the registries that I’ve used over the years in my book, a simple Internet search should readily reveal the majority of them. Some specialty companies maintain databases, occasionally called registries, of experts in a variety of disciplines, like engineering, computers, medicine, and hundreds of other subjects. Registries charge you a fee to provide added visibility for your credentials on the Internet; this is a more focused search site than a standard Internet search engine.
Accessing one of the website registries produces a list of specialized professionals in seconds, saving attorneys time and money. While some attorneys still do global searches on Google, many have acquired that searching registries is much more productive. Having your name and credentials in one of the registries listed below will enable attorneys to find you easily.
The registries provide simple displays of your name and contact data, along with a textual listing of your principal specialties and credentials. The registries also advertise in different ways to encourage attorneys to look for expert witnesses in their registry database. The primary downside to a registry with many professionals is that the attorneys may find you and your competitors during the same search.
Judd Robbins has been an internationally recognized expert witness since 1986 in the US and in the UK. In 2010, his book “Expert Witness Training” was published by Presentation Dynamics. Robbins has advanced degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan, has been an Information Systems manager and an Education Systems manager, and consults in both computer and legal issues. Learn more about Mr. Robbins and his Expert Witness Training materials at www.juddrobbins.com
