Q&A: Witnesses on Lawyers
Posted on Tue, Sep 01, 2009
Bill Pellerin is president and founder of Texas Investigative Network, Inc., based in Houston. The company, founded in 1994, specializes in obtaining private and publicly held information and evidence.
What is the most challenging thing about serving as an expert witness?
There is no doubt in my mind that the most challenging aspect of serving as an expert witness is in performing at optimum level when it matters most - in court testimony. An investigator or expert who is unable to execute this all-important final task in the courtroom places him- or herself in a situation similar to that of a pitcher who is unable to retain a lead for his team in the ninth inning of a baseball game.
What is the strangest thing you have encountered as an expert witness?
In 1992, I was called to testify in a murder case I investigated in Harris County for a criminal defense attorney. Having just finished my testimony concerning facts that I had developed in the course of my investigation, it was time for the prosecutor in the case to cross-examine me. He attempted to re-phrase his initial question to me no less than 10 to 12 times, stumbled over several of the words he intended to use in his initial question, and then began to demonstrate reluctance in even beginning the cross-examination process with me. Unable to complete his initial question, he unexpectedly announced, "No further questions".
What can attorneys do to better prepare an expert witness?
It can be quite helpful to the entire team when issues relevant to the suit (as well as challenges which could be raised by opposing counsel) are, when appropriate, shared and defined clearly. In my opinion, this degree of communication is essential in strategically developing and carrying out a plan, concentrating specifically on those areas that could reveal facts or evidence pertinent and critical in the matter.
What single aspect of your job do you most appreciate?
There is tremendous fulfillment in uncovering one witness, one fact, or one piece of information and/or evidence that, through the duration of a civil lawsuit, was overlooked by the adversary. Investigators have been known to research, cogitate, work, delierate, and review at length the facts of cases they are engaged in hours in excess of that which they may bill a client for. Consequently, when a new and critical witness, fact, or piece of information/evidence is brough to light, determined to be relevant, and whose exisetence alone alters the direction in which litigation is headed, one can't help but experience a sense of pride and fulfillment.
From the Texas Bar Journal, September 2006
