Getting Started as an Expert Witness - Interview with Steven Babitsky, Esq. - Part 2

What skills, qualifications, or attributes make you attractive to an attorney seeking an expert witness?
Well, first and foremost is your education and training. Do you have skills? Are you qualified in a particular area? What is the level of your expertise? And, in addition to that, you have to be able to articulate your opinions, you have to be able to speak well and go to court when necessary. You have to be able to write well in terms of writing up a report. You need to be able to analyze information, just like they do on CSI or other kinds of forensic shows on television. You need to be able to look through a whole bunch of information and see what is legitimate and what isn’t, and formulate an opinion and be prepared to express your opinion in writing – and in court, if necessary.

What are some ways to market your services as an expert witness?
Most expert witnesses start by developing a Web page, and developing a niche. A niche being a small area of expertise that is very, very narrow, in which they can dominate a certain market. After they have a web presence, then a lot of experts utilize expert witness directories. SEAK has one and there are three of four other excellent expert witness directories. And by contacting attorneys, insurance companies and so forth who would generally hire experts to testify for them.

Is it important to compile a comprehensive list of references and recommendations?
I don’t think so, actually. I think it’s much more important to be qualified, to understand the necessary items to do a good and thorough job, to have a very good resume or curriculum vitae, or CV as they’re called in the industry, and to be able to speak in an articulate fashion with the attorney when he or she calls you about your particular area of expertise. The attorney will usually call the expert to talk to the expert to see if they can “rock and roll,” at least on the telephone, to see if they understand the issues. While having references certainly can’t hurt, the attorney probably will make that decision by talking to you and/or if it’s a significant case, meeting with you in person.

What kind of hourly rates do expert witnesses typically charge?
Expert witnesses can charge a significant amount of money depending on the area of expertise. They can go from a civil engineer or let’s say an arborist, a tree expert, might charge $100-150 an hour. High powered medical experts, economists and other people charge $400-500 dollars an hour, and I’ve seen at least a few people who charge $1,000 an hour. And that’s because they have a national reputation, and are in tremendous demand, and also because they’re involved in high-stakes litigation. So if you’re a lawyer and you’re litigating a case which involves, let’s just take $100 million, it’s not that important how much the expert charges, because you need to win the case. So they don’t care if the expert charges $10,000 or $50,000. If, on the other hand you’re involved in damage to a tree and the whole case is worth $5,000, then the expert can’t charge that much.

Should a new expert witness charge lower fees to compete for business?
No, actually. It’s counterintuitive. Most experts figure that they will charge a small amount because that’s the way normally it is done in business to compete with other businesses, so if Apple charges $1.99 or whatever they charge to download a song, then Wal-Mart will go in there and charge $1.79. This is not that kind of a business. This is a kind of a business that’s built on reputation, integrity, credibility and expertise. And actually the experts that charge too little are looked down upon. The example that I give is if, God forbid, you or a member of your family needed open heart surgery would you go to try to locate the cheapest open heart surgeon you could find? Would you go to an open heart surgeon that advertised on the side of buses that says, “I do open heart surgery for $1,200?” The answer would be no, because you wouldn’t trust them and you’d be afraid to use them. It’s the same thing for experts. The experts that charge too little will probably not be hired because the attorneys know that they don’t know what they’re doing.

In addition to hourly fees, is it customary for your out-of-pocket expenses to be reimbursed, such as food and lodging and travel?
Yes, most experts are reimbursed. Most experts should have some kind of a retainer or written contract with the attorney, and it should provide in there that if you have any out-of-pocket expenses, the attorney should reimburse you. Whether that be for FedExing, copying, overnight things, travel, telephone calls and lodging or whatever. As long as the attorneys know that they’re going to be charged for it and as long as the experts don’t abuse it. If people ask for a $500 dinner, they’re not going to be overly happy. If you go to get a sub and you charge them $10 or $12 for dinner or $15 if you go to a chain restaurant, they’re not going to complain about that.