Attorney Ted McNabola recently gave some practical tips to fellow attorneys on cross-examination of experts. In an article featured in Volume 15, Number 2 of Trial Journal (Summer 2013), Ted focuses on the groundwork, discipline, and persistence necessary to prepare for an expert’s discovery deposition and suggests methods to effectively structure cross-examination at trial. He also summarizes relevant Illinois law on expert testimony.
Here’s what Ted identified as crucial to adequate cross-examination preparation:
- Consult with experts
- Review previous testimony and publications
- Study everything the expert has reviewed or generated
- Know your case
- Outline areas of inquiry for the deposition
- Be persistent
- Outline your cross-examination
- Command the courtroom
- Use pointed questions to undermine the expert’s qualifications
- Create an impression
- Avoid refreshing recollection
- Save some ammunition for re-cross
Effective cross-examination of expert witnesses depends on thorough preparation and can determine whether your client will win, lose, or settle. If you have further questions on how to more effectively cross-examine expert witnesses, please contact McNabola & Associates, LLC.
Click here to view the full text of the article: Practice Tips: A Primer on Cross-Examination of Experts, 2nd Edition.
