EXPERT WITNESS RESEARCH CHECKLIST
The resources/products noted below can be searched individually either at lexis.com or via the Experts menu option found on the Gather Intelligence tab of Total Litigator. Note, however, that they can also be searched, simultaneously, via the Multiple Sources checkbox options found under the Gather Intelligence tab of Total Litigator (via the Experts menu option). This latter option enables a researcher to access, in one place, almost everything LexisNexis offers for use in evaluating experts. See the last page of this checklist for more information about Total Litigator.
Databases / Sources
Federal & State Case (and International (e.g. Canadian)) Opinions
NOTE: Case opinions can be useful for finding challenges to an expert’s testimony – whether successful or not.
Daubert Tracker Case Reports
NOTE: Daubert Tracker Case Reports summarize opinions in which expert testimony has been challenged. Importantly, these Reports will not only correct name misspellings that may occur in opinions but also track down the names of experts who are not specifically referenced in opinions. In addition, some of these reports cover state trial court opinions that cannot be otherwise found online.
Verdict Reports
NOTE: Verdict reports can be helpful in identifying lawsuit in which an expert has been involved, for purposes of evaluating that expert with respect certain potential bias (e.g. repeatedly testifying for the same attorney/firm, repeatedly testifying for the same “side” (e.g. plaintiff or defendant)). Moreover, because these reports usually include the case name, the case number, jurisdictional (i.e. court) information and the names of the involved attorneys, that information can be followed up on to uncover additional information (e.g. reports, transcripts, etc.). Usually, it is best to search nationally through verdicts (via a combined database) because experts will often testify outside their own states of residence.
Briefs & Motions
NOTE: The lexis.com collection of briefs and motions (e.g. “All Federal and State Briefs and Motions, Combined“) can be searched to uncover motions to exclude, bar, limit, strike, etc. the testimony of certain experts.
Transcripts of Testimony
NOTE: Transcripts of prior testimony given by experts can be used to understand their style, their combativeness (or not) and, of course, prior statements that may contradict the testimony that they are likely to give in a deposition or at trial.
Judgments & Liens
NOTE: Because experts are like everyone else – they sue people and they get sued – it can sometimes be important to search for judgments and liens to better understand those lawsuits.
Docket Summaries
NOTE: Docket summaries will provide information with respect to lawsuits in which the expert has been involved as a party.
Arbitration Awards / Decisions / Opinions
NOTE: Some arbitration awards, decisions, and opinions mention the names of experts involved.
Agency Decisions (Federal & State)
NOTE: Because many experts do work for agencies or testify before them, it may be fruitful to search agency decisions to uncover such instances and then follow up on them (e.g. to get transcripts of testimony, filed reports and the like).
Expert Directories
NOTE: Checking out how an expert has related his/her credentials via a marketing tool, such as an expert directory (such as JurisPro or Martindale-Hubbell) can assist in helping determine whether that expert has “fudged” the credentials he/she listed in the directory or in the resume that expert gave to you during the course of the lawsuit.
News
NOTE: What an expert has said or done in the past may come back to haunt him/her in the future. Accordingly, it is absolutely critical that the news be searched to uncover comments made to the press, articles written, letters to the editor authored, and the like.
Professional Licensing Information & Sanctions
NOTE: Just because an expert states that he/she is licensed in a certain type of profession in a particular state does not necessarily mean that it is true. So, double-check such claims by searching professional licenses online – as well as sanction and disciplinary information.
Criminal History Records
NOTE: Some experts have criminal backgrounds. They likely won’t tell you, so you have to find significant convictions, particularly ones that concern honesty.
Law Review Articles
NOTE: Though seemingly an unlikely source of information about experts, law review articles often do mention experts, in terms of their publications or in discussions about their testimony (and challenges to it).
Congressional Information
NOTE: More prominent experts submit documents (e.g. letters, reports, etc.) to Congress and some of them actually testify before Congressional Committees. Track down what an expert submitted and/or said by searching through Congressional sources online.
Technical Journal Articles
NOTE: Don’t rely on any sort of listing of articles/publications given to you by an expert; go out and track down such information yourself (e.g. through “Elsevier Full-Text Journals” and “Medline References”) and then compare it to the list submitted to you by that expert – maybe you’ll find an omission or inaccuracy.
Patent Applications
NOTE: Some experts are also patent holders. So there may be valuable information to be gleaned from patent applications filed by an expert.
Products
Special Product: LexisNexis Analyzer
NOTE: Expert Analyzer simultaneously searches 28 expert-related databases, such as case opinions, Daubert Tracker Case Reports, verdict reports, agency decisions, expert directories, news and more. Importantly, the first results screen that the user sees – the Summary of Search Criteria screen – is free, enabling the user to determine whether or not relevant results are being retrieved before incurring any cost.
Special Product: CourtLink Single Search
NOTE: CourtLink Single Search simultaneously searches both CourtLink’s collection of over 85 million federal and state dockets and CourtLink’s collection of over 3 million court-filed documents (and both collections are growing rapidly). By using Single Search a researcher can uncover a wide variety of critical information useful for investigating experts including affidavits, declarations, transcripts of testimony, motions to exclude, and much, much more.
Special Product: Comprehensive Person Report
NOTE: The Comprehensive Person Report (aka SmartLinx®) combs through billions of public records in a single search to create a comprehensive, easy-to-read summary report that establishes logical connections between related entities. Such a report is invaluable for researching experts because it can be used to better understand their relationships (especially, potential conflicts of interest), financial status and more.
Services
IDEX (accessible via the latest member of the LexisNexis family, provides an effective means to gather and share information about expert witnesses. It is the preeminent source for expert witness testimony, transcripts, depositions, disciplinary actions and Daubert challenges, as well as literature searches of articles written by or naming experts. The testimonial database contains more than 1,000,000 records on nearly 150,000 experts. The IDEX network of more than 4,600 law firms, insurance companies, corporations and government entities successfully identifies an expert's case involvement 85% of the time. Next time you prepare to face an expert, or want to make an informed decision when hiring an expert, see what IDEX can find for you.
Total Litigator Platform
Total Litigator (accessible either via lexis.com or totallitigator.com) is a task-based research platform that suggests the appropriate resource(s) based on the task the researcher needs to accomplish.