Financial Expert Witness Communication: A Practical Guide to Reporting and Testimony

CHAPTER 8 Basic Litigation Knowledge for the Financial Expert Witness

LAWS AND RULES

The financial expert witness must know and adhere to relevant laws and rules applicable to expert witnesses. As it relates to the laws relevant to the financial expert witness, we are not referring in this context to personal compliance with lawful behavior requirements. Instead, this knowledge of the law refers to the statutes cited in the complaint and, if the financial expert has been engaged to assist with damages, the legal remedies available. This is the equivalent of the financial expert witness knowing the rules to play a sport. The financial expert witness must know the rules to play the game (i.e., know the laws and rules for admissible and appropriate testimony); however, he is not a referee there to interpret and enforce the rules (i.e., the financial expert witness is not an attorney or trier of fact).

The Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) explain the rules pertaining to financial expert witness testimony. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) provide rules for both consulting and expert witnesses. Each of these federal rules is discussed more fully in other chapters of this book.

Relevant Case Law

There are a handful of seminal cases that form the legal basis for the admissibility of financial expert witness testimony. The U.S. Supreme Court opinions on Daubert v. Merrell ...