Are you curious about the impact of having a qualified witness during business litigation trials? See, when it involves your business, you know better than anybody that a lot of intricate calculations and decisions are made every day to protect your company’s interests. When your company is involved in litigation, this complexity might be an issue. How do you explain decisions made by professionals with years of study and experience to a lay jury?
One of the excellent answers to this problem is to hire a lawyer who can help the court by clarifying the scenario so that everyone understands the evidence.
Why is it necessary to work with expert witnesses in a business litigation case?
Numerous types of expert witnesses can be used in business litigation proceedings, such as:
- Financial experts: They are experts in analyzing financial statements, providing valuation, and determining compensation for the transaction. They can also help identify potential fraud or money laundering.
- Economic experts: Can provide guidance on determining the fair value of a company, help calculate profit loss due to economic conditions or managerial decisions, estimate the amount of goodwill lost due to adverse publicity, or value a company’s value if it were to be liquidated.
- Real estate appraiser: A real estate appraiser can assess the value of your real estate, compare its value to fair market value or current market value, help the company value its assets accountable, or make sure whether a contract has been followed.
Why do you need two business litigation expert witnesses?
Why not involve a single category of witness for your case? Sometimes you can, but these two forms of witnesses have slightly distinct legal standing in court. Specifically, documents examined by an external expert do not have to be provided to opposing counsel, whereas anything reviewed by a testifying expert must be disclosed.
Thus, when trying to analyze a situation, it is usually best to have a consulting expert thoroughly evaluate the problem and provide you with a confidential explanation and plan before involving a testifying expert, who must share all facts with the other side.
How can they help?
Experienced witnesses can be very beneficial in business litigation. They can help clarify complex issues, give you a neutral point of view, and provide you with credibility for your argument. Experienced witnesses can also help identify critical problems in the case and offer advice on how to proceed.
In addition to testifying during the trial, qualified witnesses can help you in obtaining and analyzing information throughout discovery. They can help you identify flaws in the opposition’s case and advise you on how to strengthen your own.