I have a 3rd degree black belt in martial arts, with many associated studies of other martial disciplines. Skills I learned on the martial arts mat have served me quite well over the years of being an expert witness. One attorney even hired me for a multi million dollar lawsuit because he felt that this background would permit me to more calmly resist what he expected to be an aggressive experience for any expert.

What may be straightforward for me to counter might be impossible for someone without the necessary training. This applies equally well to a physical attack by an opponent on the mat or a testimonial attack from an attorney in a deposition or trial. Anticipation of what may come one's way is fundamental to a martial artist's training. As an expert witness, you will need to similarly anticipate what lawyers may ask you regarding your work, your experience, your investigation, your report, and your testimony.

Lawyers often prepare their questions by creating a starter series of generic questions in the form of a checklist. You should review the Expert Deposition Checklist found at the following link: http://www.daubertontheweb.com/Deposition_Checklist.htm

Although your C.V. may already contain many of the answers, you should realize that they may ask you in deposition or trial to answer these questions nevertheless. Attorneys will often start by asking you personal questions regarding your professional background and employment record. You should know these things instantly. Questions about education, licenses, and certifications are also to be expected, and you should have the answers at the tip of your tongue. Questions about any publication history and any prior expert witness experience are natural follow on questions. You should equally be instantly conversant and ready to answer confidently about all of these. If you were a judge, what would you think of an expert who hemmed and hawed about a book (s)he spent a year writing, or a job (s)he spent three years working at?

You should have kept careful records about your specific retention in each case in which you are an expert, and in which you have been retained as either an expert witness or expert consultant. You should be thoroughly prepared to elucidate your expert opinions when asked. As the questioning becomes more detailed, and the dangers of weak responses become more obvious, you need to have pre-thought out possible answers to the most likely questions. For example, the Checklist ends with a section about verbal directions from attorneys. Some of these conversations you had with your retaining attorney may be problematic, and some of the potential actions of your retaining attorney could very well be damaging, such as attempts to guide the actual content of your expert report.

The checklist does not tell you the answers. But it does include a significant number of questions that lawyers are taught to ask or consider asking. If you study it with an eye toward your own responses, you will be well prepared for the actual testimony. Success during depositions and trials relies greatly on preparation and anticipation, just as it does in a martial arts context. All in all, the referenced expert deposition checklist is a useful resource for your preparations for both depositions and trials. Read it completely to better prepare for the scope of an attorney's questions in both settings.