Harper Litigation Consulting and Research : 214-244-4608
Your expert witness can help in many ways, provided they have the right expertise and experience. Ms. Harper is routinely counted on by attorneys throughout the case process: Trial Strategy, Discovery, Depositions, Pre-Trial Preparation, and Trial.
During the trial strategy phase, your expert may review the case's Pleading, Complaint, and Answer to provide the attorney an initial point of view regarding pros and cons of various legal strategies based on her expertise and experience. She may point out the various ways she can work to provide opinions in the case. Is a survey necessary? If so, what type? Would other types of research be important? What areas of her expertise could be leveraged? Is a report required?
Discovery is a critical phase and ensuring that the attorney receives all of the information, documents, and answers necessary can make or break a case. An expert witness can be very helpful in providing what she needs to provide an opinion. For instance, the expert may:
In some cases, an expert can be helpful, prior to the mediation or settlement meeting, in articulating terms and conditions as well as assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each side's case relative to her area of expertise. Some experts are also trained Mediators.
During the Discovery Phase, counsel may receive opposition expert reports. An expert can help to assess the reliability and validity of the opposition's expert and report. If the expert and/or report is flawed, she can help by providing a Rebuttal in which all flaws are thoroughly discussed. This may lead to the expert and the report being tossed out entirely by the court, or being diminished in its importance, or weight, to the case's judgement.
Clearly, the expert witness will be available for trial to provide testimony. Based on her expertise and experience, however, the attorney may benefit from having her sit in for jury selection. She may also be helpful in assessing the opposition's case, specific to her area of expertise. And, watching and reporting on opposition and jury behavior may also be helpful as the trial unfolds.
Overall, an expert witness can be a valuable asset for any legal team.
Retained by more than 115 law firms, Ms. Rhonda Harper is courtroom proven in virtually every circuit along with JAMS and TTAB. Ms. Harper's 30 year career includes serving as a Fortune 100 chief marketing officer and an adjunct marketing professor. In addition to providing litigation consulting and research in the areas of business, licensing, marketing, advertising, and strategy, Ms. Harper is routinely retained to formulate expert surveys, conduct rebuttal critiques, or construct rebuttal surveys to show the potential difference in results with properly designed and executed surveys. She has extensive experience and a deep understanding of survey design, sampling, question construction, data analysis, and the methodological pitfalls that can introduce bias or systematic error.