Effective Expert Witnessing

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.

The book and supplemental downloadable resources provide robust strategies ensuring that expert witnesses have the best possible advantage in presenting testimony that is credible, persuasive, and compelling.

Jack V. Matson, Ph.D., is emeritus professor of environmental engineering at The Pennsylvania State University and an owner of Matson and Associates Inc., a litigation support consulting engineering firm, in State College, Pennsylvania. His expertise is in the field of chemical emissions, water and wastewater treatment, air pollution, and hazardous wastes. In the course of his career, he has been deposed in over 100 cases and testified at 20 trials. He continues to be active as an expert witness in environmental litigation, specializing in chemical emissions. He is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio.