Effective Expert Witnessing: Practices for the 21st Century

The testimony of an expert witness can lead to success or failure in cases that hinge on the presentation’s impact on a jury. Effective Expert Witnessing, Fifth Edition: Practices for the 21st Century explores the fundamentals of litigation, trial preparation, courtroom presentation, and the business of expert witnessing. Extensively updated to reflect new developments since the last edition, it provides practical advice enabling expert witnesses and attorneys to maximize the effectiveness of their expert testimony.

The Fifth Edition includes three new chapters. The first uses a hypothetical case study to explore expert witness immunity and issues related to professional malpractice and civil liability. In a chapter on psychology and the art of expert persuasion, noted social psychologist and witness preparation specialist Ann T. Greeley reveals the psychology of juries, discusses what makes an expert effective, and provides tips for conveying effective testimony through verbal and nonverbal behavior and graphics and technology. The final chapter surveys nine of the worst mistakes an expert can make and provides tips on how to avoid them.

Accompanying the book is an invaluable CD-ROM in which Dr. Matson introduces video clips demonstrating effective and ineffective expert testimony at deposition and trial. The book and supplemental CD-ROM provide robust strategies ensuring that expert witnesses have the best possible advantage in presenting testimony that is credible, persuasive, and compelling.