Expert Reports and Opinions: Uncovering Logical Weaknesses and Methodologies
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Class Action and Other Litigation
- event Date
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will guide counsel through better strategies and practices for thoroughly reviewing an opposing expert's report efficiently but carefully. The panel will discuss why most counsel fail to get as much leverage as possible by failing to follow the best procedures. The panel will explain how to understand the opposing party's argument, identify contradictions, avoid self-contradictions, provide alternatives to areas believed to be incorrect, and verify suspect research or methodologies. The program will also offer examples with commonly seen expert reports.
Mr. Holthus is a Partner at Freeman Mathis & Gary's Columbus office. His primary area of focus is on civil rights and government liability, corporate law, employment, and general liability matters. Mr. Holthus has tried, advocated and or arbitrated nearly one hundred cases before civil juries, administrative licensing (and other) boards and arbitration panels throughout Ohio (and California), in both state and federal court.
Mr. Marzulla is one of the nation’s leading water, property, and environmental lawyers. As Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, he learned firsthand the operations and litigation styles of his client agencies: EPA, Interior Department, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Transportation, and Department of Commerce.
Mr. Blumen exclusively handles personal injury and workers’ compensation cases. He produces favorable results because of a clearly-defined mission to listen to clients and achieve their goals through responsible and effective representation on a cost-efficient basis.
Litigators must be able to analyze and critique opposing expert reports. More than simply reading the report is required. Counsel must understand the expert's logic, note areas of agreement and disagreement, and test assumptions.
Counsel should apply the same exercise before submitting one's expert reports to ensure that the expert's opinions are sound and entirely consistent with the facts of the case.
By carefully understanding and dissecting the report, counsel can see how to discredit the credibility and accuracy of the opposing expert's conclusions and further support counsel's analysis, conclusions, and opinions. This review may also lead to settlement leverage.
Listen as this experienced panel sheds new light on deconstructing and evaluating expert reports.
- What a well written expert report should contain
- Analyzing the report
- Understanding the opposing party's argument
- Identifying contradictions
- Avoiding self-contradictions
- Providing alternatives to areas believed to be incorrect
- Verifying suspect research and methodologies
- Applications to commonly seen experts
The panel will review these and other essential questions:
- Why do many attorneys fail to glean as much leverage as they could from expert reports?
- How can counsel spot and eliminate confirmation bias when reviewing reports?
- What are common red flags of logical fallacy?
- What should counsel do if the opposing expert's report seems insurmountable?
- What practices can speed up the review, and what are the most valuable if time is short?
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