Expert Witnesses (Commercial Litigation)

Summary

This practice note discusses the use of expert witnesses in a commercial litigation dispute. An expert witness is a person whose knowledge, skill, experience, training, and/or education qualifies them to offer an opinion or other testimony that will help the trier of fact understand the evidence or determine a fact in issue. This practice note covers, among other things, the use of experts in commercial litigation cases, testifying and non-testifying experts, admissibility and reliability of expert testimony, the distinction between expert and fact witnesses, disclosure requirements for expert witnesses, and deposing and challenging expert witnesses. While this practice note often focuses on the Federal Rules of Evidence with respect to experts, it also provides guidance for the use of experts in state court cases.