Best Practices for Expert Testimony

The California Appellate Law Podcast

Your next trial could succeed or fail based on whether the expert’s opinion gets admitted or excluded. Based on their recent presentation to financial experts, we cover three key cases—Kelly, Sargon, and Sanchez—that govern expert opinions. We also cover some fundamentals and tips to protect expert work product.

Some things experts should remind their attorneys:

• “Don’t email me. Pick up the phone instead.”
• “My opinion is only as good as the facts you’ve told me to base them on.”
• “Kelly and Sargon are different objections!”
• “I am a CPA, not Warren Buffet.”
• Regarding the new amendments to FRE 702: “Expect a tougher fight on admissibility, especially on methodology and reliability of application.”

Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed.

Appellate Specialist Tim Kowal's biography, LinkedIn profile, Twitter feed, and YouTube page.

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The California Appellate Law Podcast thanks Casetext for sponsoring the podcast. Listeners receive a discount on Casetext Basic Research at casetext.com/CALP. The co-hosts, Jeff and Tim, were also invited to try Casetext’s newest technology, CoCounsel, the world’s first AI legal assistant. You can discover CoCounsel for yourself with a demo and free trial at casetext.com/CoCounsel.

Other items discussed in the episode:

• Schreiber v. Estate of Kiser (1999) 22 Cal.4th 31.
• Du-All Safety, LLC v. The Superior Court of Alameda County (2019) 34 Cal.App.5th 485.)
• Townsend v. Olivo (D4d2 Jun. 15, 2021) no. E073183 (non-pub.) (Tim’s writeup).
• People v. Kelly (1976) 17 Cal.3d 24 (Tim’s writeup)
• Sargon Enterprises, Inc. v. University of Southern California (2012) 55 Cal.4th 747, 769 (Tim’s writeup).
• People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 665
• Bushling v. Fremont Medical Center (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 493, 510
• People v. Wakefield (N.Y. 2022) 38 N.Y.3d 367, 371[authorizing use of TrueAllele Casework System - probabilistic genotyping as generally accepted in the scienti fic community]
• Siemon v. Regents of the University of California (D1d1 Oct. 19, 2022 no. A160654) 2022 WL 12083207 (nonpub. opn.) (Tim’s writeup).
• Kline v. Zimmer, Inc. (D2d8 May 26, 2022) ___ Cal.Rptr.3d ___ 2022 WL 1679539 (review pending as of 8/23/23) (Tim’s writeup).
• Strobel v. Johnson & Johnson (D1d4 Sept. 21, 2021) 2021 WL 4272711 no. A159609 (Tim’s writeup).
• Zuniga v. Alexandria Care Center, LLC (D2d7 Aug. 13, 2021) 2021 WL 3579021 no. B297023 (Tim’s writeup).
• Videos from this episode will be posted at Tim Kowal’s YouTube channel.