The introductory phone call is your biggest opportunity to influence an attorney’s decision to employ you. Show him that you already know litigation support and that you know your specialty. You can begin by suggesting how you would approach a case he has. Be proactive with your experience and experience.
Once you have a little experience under your belt, you can offer free technical advice with regard to a case, or even share things that other attorneys have done in similar cases. You are not giving advice to a lawyer on the law, but you are sharing your experiences in other cases that are similar. If you have more background in a particular kind of case than the attorney has then your qualifications may help him to identify areas of need. You could suggest the steps you might take to reach an opinion in the case. This approach uses your specialty experience as a selling tool in a low-key way.
Do your credentials and background support your claim to being an expert, and does your CV instantly convey that claim? Do you sound great when you speak, and do you speak well and clearly? Shyness does not become an expert witness. wonderful eye contact is a valued skill.
Can you dress well? Think of your initial meeting with an attorney as a job interview. Wear business clothing. If you see that the atmosphere in the office is more casual, then you might dress down a bit for future meetings but never dress more casually than those you will be working with. You want to impress attorneys with your professionalism, and your appearance contributes to that. When you attend a deposition or a trial, you should take the same approach to appearance as well. You want everyone to see you as both serious and professional in appearance as well as in demeanor.
Sloppiness in your appearance suggests carelessness in your work.
You should consider one more thing. Do not overdress by wearing flashy clothes or flashy jewelry. One lawyer I worked for pointed out to me that the opposing expert had on a $ 10,000 Rolex watch during a deposition. He said jurors don’t want it rubbed in their noses exactly how much money experts make. The attorney planned to make a point of the watch with the jurors if given the opportunity.
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
Testifying as an expert witness with audio and video evidence is the most important activity to an audio forensic expert. When testifying we review your case…
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