The Lawyers & Experts Conversation Series features conversations between civil attorneys and expert witnesses. In each session, a civil attorney and an expert witness will share, through personal experiences, the process of identifying and selecting experts, how experts can be helpful before and during a trial, and ultimately, the impact expert witness testimony may have on domestic violence and family law cases.
Lawyers & Experts Conversation Series
Part 1: Child Behavior Expert
- Presented by Micaela Deming and Julie Oates
- Thursday, July 22, 2021
The first session features an attorney who represents survivors in cases involving child maltreatment and a therapist with specialized training in counseling children affected by trauma. A child behavior expert may be called upon to serve as a fact witness in a case, but may also be qualified as an expert and provide their opinion as to custody and visitation. The child behavior expert may be critical in helping the court understand the best needs of the children in a case.
Part 2: Cultural Experts
- Presented by Jaya Badiga, Maricarmen Garza, and Protima Pandey
- Thursday, August 19, 2021
The second session features a civil attorney who retained two cultural experts (a consulting expert and a testifying expert) for her case. Cultural experts are useful because they may provide cultural interpretation, including explaining practices and beliefs, and explaining and reflecting upon cultural biases and assumptions.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2018-TA-AX-K006 and awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this program are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.