These cases illustrate why it is crucial for trial lawyers to confirm that an expert is all he claims to be. Vetting an expert’s credentials should be a key step in your trial preparation.
Major legal research services provide many tools for checking an expert’s background from public records databases to deposition banks. But these major services can be expensive to use and still leave bases uncovered.
. are usually very easy to use and extremely powerful. You'll see Google's Advanced Search link right on their front page. There are also specialty search engines available which come in handy for finding certain people online. There are specialty search...
. their newly acquired pit bull after me. At first I seethed at the insult but realized she must be that intimidated by the memories of me still floating in their home and besides she would have to be reminded of...
The best tool for searching blogs is Google Blog Search at http://blogsearch google com. Like Google’s Web search it is comprehensive and up to date. You can sort results by date or relevance and you can search blogs in multiple languages.
A close second for searching blogs is Clusty at http://blogs clusty com. Clusty is not a search engine it does not crawl or index the Web. Rather it is a metasearch tool that calls on other blog search engines extracts the relevant information and then organizes the results into a hierarchical folder structure which it calls
. death of an Individual. You must try to find out the ancestral village of the members and their occupation both in present and the past. There is much information contained in databases but finding what you are searching for can...
Another source of potentially damaging comments by or about an expert is the Internet’s many news groups and discussion lists. To find postings someone made to one of these search Google Groups at http://groups google com. It hosts a variety of current groups as well as an archive of more than 750 million Usenet postings dating back to 1985.
As podcasts become more popular they also should be included in a background search. Perhaps the person you are researching said something pertinent in a podcast or was the subject of someone else’s podcast comment. Several sites claim to search podcasts but most of these actually search only
. a basic internet search. DNA Testing Want to go even more high tech? Many people have turned to DNA tests to determine where their ancestors are from. A simple swab of the inside of one s cheek (yep just like...
A handful of tools now enable you to search the full spoken text of podcasts. One of the best is Podzinger at www podzinger com. It is based on speech-recognition technology developed for U. S intelligence to monitor foreign television and radio broadcasts. It uses this technology to create a textual index of the audio data in any MP3 or WAV file converting the spoken words into searchable text.
Where professionals once networked at cocktail parties and civic events today you are more likely to find them connecting through any of a number of networking Web sites. The most popular at the
. as magi. Daniel was the most famous wise man ever to grace the courts of Babylon. He saved the entire company of magi from total destruction by interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Later he spent the night with lions rather than...
moment is LinkedIn at www linkedin com where members post information about their careers and their connections and share mutual recommendations. If your expert is listed on LinkedIn read his profile carefully. How does his listing compare with what he has provided to you? Also look for references from others and examine his network of connections for any that might help either verify or call into question his background.
Other business networking sites include Ziggs at www ziggs com. Ryze at www ryze com and Orkut at www orkut com. Of course be sure also to check personal networking sites such as MySpace at www myspace com and Facebook at www facebook com.
. the city and state of where the deceased lived or was buried. If you look further down on the homepage you will find a listing of all the states. Clicking on one of these links will bring you to a...
database at www sec gov/edgar shtml. But fewer think to search EDGAR for information about individuals even though it may contain a wealth of information. Corporate filings can provide information on an individual’s business affiliations employment arrangements investments and more. Even an individual’s education and employment history can sometimes be tracked through EDGAR.
If the expert works in the securities industry two databases worth checking are NASD BrokerCheck at www nasd com/InvestorInformation/InvestorProtection/NASDW_005882 which provides information on the professional backgrounds of current and former NASD-registered securities firms and brokers and the National Futures Association’s Background Affiliation Status Information Center (BASIC) at www nfa futures org/basicnet which does much the same for registered futures dealers.
. name is 'Churchill' or 'Dickens' for instance it's likely that you'll be keen to trace your genealogy back through the years and establish whether you have any family connections to these famous figures in British history. And if you live...
it says today may differ from what it said five years ago. The best way to track historical changes in someone’s Web site is through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine at www archive org. Here you can find an archive that captures historical snapshots of sites. While not exhaustive it is likely to have at least some pages showing earlier versions of a site.
. your birth certificate for a low fee of $20.00 or less. This method can take longer than using a third party site but it can save you money. If you want to get it quickly and easily you can order...
the best is Search Systems at www searchsystems net with links to nearly 40,000 sources of public records on the Web. It includes links to sources throughout the world although the greatest number of sources are in the U. S and Canada. Not all sites listed are free but the site clearly marks those that are not. Among the listings: professional license registrations corporate records marriage notices. UCC filings deed registries birth and death records lobbyist listings physician disciplinary proceedings and much more.
Virtual Gumshoe at www virtualgumshoe com: A good collection of Web resources for public records research. Public Records Online Directory at http://publicrecords netronline com: Links to state and municipal sites with an emphasis on real
. be colored in and pasted over too. Using softwares to create a family tree is for people who are not keen on the paper scissor glue and goo concept of creating family trees. Don t be surprised there ARE people...
estate tax and vital records sources. Merlin Information Sources at www merlindata com/industrylinks html: Links to resources for finding public records and public information. Black Book Online at www blackbookonline info: A free public records site targeted at private investigators skip tracers government investigators and others. Good collection of links and descriptions. BRB Publications at www brbpub com: provides a fairly comprehensive state-by-state list of free public records sites as well as an index of national sites and another for Canada and U. S territories.
Due to privacy concerns it is difficult to find social security numbers on the Web these days. But you can easily verify that a number is valid and belongs to a living person. Enter a number in The SSN Validator at www ssnvalidator com and
.. God such as a fire or flood could destroy the records of an entire town. Depending on the time and location of the creation of vital records you need you may find more or less information than you expected. At...
To check a medical doctor’s license. DocFinder at www docboard org/docfinder html provides a database of license information for participating states. For states not included in the DocFinder database the site provides links to their own license look-up sites.
Most states now have sites for verifying a lawyer’s bar admission. In Massachusetts for example it is at http://massbbo org/bbolookup php. You can find these for other states through the state government Web site. A new site. Avvo at www avvo com rates lawyers
. mind that most of these sources give general information about the name that may or may not directly apply to your particular genealogical research. Document your sources carefully in case you need to revisit them or change items. Some sources...
Is your expert a party to pending litigation? To find out in federal court check the U. S. Party/Case Index at http://pacer uspci uscourts gov. This is a national index of parties and cases for U. S district bankruptcy and appellate courts. It is updated nightly. Use of it requires a PACER account. Not all federal courts participate but the site includes a list of those that do not.
A service with much the same information that requires no account is Justia’s Federal District Court Filings & Dockets at http://dockets justia com. This free searchable resource contains information on recently filed U. S district court civil cases. The database includes cases filed since Jan. 1.
. and new questions. Although it is not necessary genealogy software can assist you in compiling your genealogy. The good ones will often include checklists of hints tips and tricks that can prove invaluable. Such software may also be linked to...
Another low-cost option for searching federal court dockets is Who’s Suing Whom at www tlc-i com/texis/tmp/litcases3. A private translation and interpretation services firm offers this tool for searching patent trademark or copyright cases pending in federal courts. Search by case type and party name court state or date to find basic case information. There is a charge to retrieve full-text court dockets.
Vital records birth death and marriage certificates and divorce decrees are increasingly available free online through state and local government sources. Vital Records Information at www vitalrec com tells where to find them anywhere in the U. S. It lists sources for each state.
. able to get information on how to proceed. Also try contacting genealogical societies both locally and online. Some societies publish their own databases of death records and other vital records. These sources are generally based on the members' research and...
territory and county and most cities and towns along with contact fee and ordering information. For records outside the U. S. the site lists links to foreign vital records sites. This straightforward site is designed with a nod towards genealogy but it is one many lawyers are sure to find useful.
The Daubert Tracker at www dauberttracker com is a Web site developed specifically to help lawyers track cases involving the admissibility of expert testimony and in particular find out how specific experts fared in the courts. Its central feature is a database of all reported cases under Daubert and its progeny trial and appellate backed up when available by full-text briefs transcripts and docket entries. Part of what makes
.. Government. If you have a social security number but you do not know whom it belongs to and you would like to find a person using it things can get a little trickier. Since public record databases do not list social...
A year subscription is $295 or you can purchase a two-hour session for $25 or a half-hour for $10. For free you can search the site’s collection of more than 10,000 briefs and other supporting documents from both appellate and trial courts relating to expert witness testimony. If you find a document you are interested in you can also view the first 10 percent of it free. If you decide you want to purchase the complete document the cost is $15 for non-subscribers and $7.50 for subscribers.
. breaks. If you've already blown your holiday leave entitlement then maybe treat yourself to a theatre visit. The half price ticket booth in London's Leicester Square offers a wide selection of shows and musicals selling on the day of performance...
expert it is important to confirm authorship of listed works as well as to search for any unlisted works that could be relevant or embarrassing. Two essential resources to check for published works are the Library of Congress Online Catalog at http://catalog loc gov and the records of the U. S. Copyright Office at www copyright gov/search. Of course it also makes sense to check Amazon com at www amazon com and Barnes & Noble at www barnesandnoble com.
An increasingly popular resource for scholarly publications is the Social Science Research Network at www ssrn com. This international collaborative is home to scholarly research covering more than 400 subject areas. It contains abstracts of more than 150,000 working papers and the full text of well over 100,000 published papers. This makes SSRN
. is nothing wrong with asking for referrals. It is possible that the friend of this potential client may be more enthusiastic of joining the organization or buying something. Genealogy leads does not really increase the chances of succeeding in multi-level...
Another useful source is ISI HighlyCited com at www isihighlycited com. This site provides profiles and bibliographic information for the most highly cited researchers in 21 broad subject categories. For listed individuals the site provides biographical information including education faculty and professional posts memberships and offices current research interests and personal Web sites as well as a full listing of publications including journal articles books and conference proceedings.
The U. S government maintains any number of databases that could be relevant to vetting an expert depending on his field of expertise. One often worth checking is the Excluded Parties List System at www epls gov. It provides information on individuals and companies
Robert Ambrogi is the editor of BullsEye a monthly newsletter distributed by IMS Expert Services. IMS Expert Services is the premier expert witness and litigation consultant search firm in the legal industry focused exclusively on providing custom expert witness searches to attorneys. To read this and other legal industry BullsEye publications please visit IMS ExpertServices at http://www ims-expertservices com
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