Insider Insights on Expert Witness Research: Interview with Expert Witness Profiler Co-Founders

Expert witness research is a critical component of any legal case. To gain insight into this area of research, I spoke with the co-founders of Expert Witness Profiler, Myles Levin and Ashish Arun. With over 40 years of combined experience in the legal industry, they shared their exclusive insights on the risks of not conducting due diligence, methods to verify an expert’s credentials, how Expert Witness Profiler benefits legal professionals, their company’s research process, and the future of Expert Witness Profiler.

Why is it important for legal professionals to conduct due diligence when selecting an expert witness? What are some of the potential risks of not doing so?

We have all heard the now hackneyed expression, “Litigation is a battle of the experts.” In many respects, this is a true statement. Failing to properly vet and research an expert’s professional background before retention can have grave consequences for a case’s success. Since most expert witness research is performed on opposing experts, it is far more likely that opposing counsel will uncover “smoking gun” information than retaining counsel. The only way to avoid the catastrophic consequences of such a scenario is to conduct diligent research on the expert prior to retention. Doing so will also prevent potential liability resulting from a negligent retention claim.

How can legal professionals verify an expert witness’s credentials?

While rare, there are times when expert witnesses fabricate or misrepresent their credentials. Failing to verify a retained or opposing witness’s credentials poses an avoidable risk that’s not worth taking.

In some instances, the verification process is straightforward but in others it can be tedious and time consuming. There are 3 broad categories of credentials:

1. Degrees:
   • In the United States, the National Student Clearinghouse largely manages college and university degree verification. To utilize the organization’s services, one must register and pay a per verification fee, which varies in cost by educational institution. However, not all institutions are aligned with the National Student Clearinghouse; therefore, professionals may have to contact the educational institution directly.
2. Licenses/Disciplinary Actions:
   • While individual states manage the professional licensing process and provide a website to quickly verify a professional’s licensure and any disciplinary action, many occupations do not require licensure (economists, for example). Furthermore, occupations which require licensure vary widely from state to state.
3. Certifications:
   • Professional certifications are ordinarily managed by professional associations or boards. If an expert claims to be certified, then the relevant certifying body needs to be contacted.

In addition to external sources, legal professionals can leverage Expert Witness Profiler to obtain thorough background reports on experts.

What is Expert Witness Profiler?

We founded Expert Witness Profiler in 2008 with three core objectives. First, to provide attorneys with a comprehensive, cost effective tool to assess an expert witness’s background, including potential liabilities prior to retention. Second, to better prepare attorneys before deposing an opposing expert. Lastly, to give expert witnesses a tool to better understand what information attorneys may come to find out about them.

Considering the myriad of data sources available to attorneys to investigate expert witnesses (free vs. fee-based, unique vs. redundant, etc.), the process can be tedious, time-consuming, and overwhelming. While some firms may have most of the tools to get the job done properly, very few do. Our company has all the tools and manpower to execute a thorough, cost-effective job.

How does Expert Witness Profiler create background reports on expert witnesses?

The key to conducting comprehensive and useful expert witness research product is access to the deepest and broadest data sources available. Expert Witness Profiler has invested in these data sources, which include LexisNexis, Westlaw, Docket Alarm, to name a few. With this information, we are able to conduct comprehensive research. The research process is extremely technical and labor intensive, which makes the value of our reports indisputable. The average profile report, for example, takes about 25 hours of human labor to produce. To execute this detail-oriented work, our company employs over 50 research professionals, the lion’s share of whom are attorneys, all specially trained and immersed in expert witness research.

What’s next for Expert Witness Profiler?

We continue to focus on our goal of providing the most comprehensive background reports on expert witnesses. Our customers have requested court documents, such as expert reports, motions, deposition transcripts, and resumes. Therefore, we’re working on making these documents available on our platform and in collaboration with other legal publishers.

Expert Witness Profiler offers a variety of custom research reports directly from its website and via the Courtroom Insight platform. Learn more about the company here.