Basics:
Expert Institute is a legal services firm that recruits expert witnesses who can opine intelligently about everything from accounting to anesthesia to help lawyers in civil and criminal trials.
Expected pay: You set it
Husl$core: $$$$$
Commissions & fees: NA
Where: Nationwide
Requirements: Deep expertise in a topic; no felonies or legal investigations or restrictions on you personally or professionally
What is Expert Institute?
Expert Institute is a legal services firm that recruits expert witnesses who can opine intelligently about everything from accounting to anesthesia to help lawyers in civil and criminal trials.
How it works
To sign up as an expert, simply click the “get hired” button. From there, the site will email you a link to sign up and create a profile.
Your profile should include a photo; resume and details about your areas of expertise. If you have worked as an expert witness before, you’ll also be asked to provide details. The more detailed your profile, the more likely you are to be enlisted as an expert witness.
As part of the sign up process, you’ll also be asked to put in your expected hourly rates for reviewing a case, attending a deposition or testifying at trial.
Don’t know what to charge? Expert Institute has a calculator that can help. It suggests, for instance, that nurses charge about $250 per hour to review case files; $360 to attend a deposition; and $448 to testify at trial. Meanwhile, an accounting expert might charge $380 to review files; and $450 per hour for depositions and testimony.
Expert Institute review:
Expert Institute is a legal services firm that connects attorneys and subject matter experts for legal cases and legal consulting opportunities across North America. By signing up as an expert here, you’ll be put into the site’s directory, which is used by Expert Institute’s researchers to match experts with appropriate client requests.
This site charges nothing to experts. All fees are paid by the law firms seeking the expert witnesses. This structure allows Expert Institute to stay out of direct communication between expert witnesses and the attorneys who need them. The idea is to allow experts and lawyers to talk freely.
The pay for experts is generous, as noted above. However, experts are expected to be real experts, which means you’re probably already a highly-paid professional. Or they were highly-paid professionals before they recently retired.
Expert Institute encourages nearly anyone with deep knowledge and experience with a topic that could lead to litigation to sign up. You could be an expert in security services, janitorial services, mall lighting, or geology, for instance.
However, the site says that medical experts — doctors and nurses of all types — are in the greatest demand. Indeed, the site says its five most-requested experts are in Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Surgery, Nursing and “other medical.”
The site places about 10,000 experts annually. And it is almost universally highly-reviewed by both lawyers and experts, who have worked with them.
Although Expert Institute only has two offices in Milwaukee and Los Angeles, the site recruits expert witnesses nationwide.
What’s an expert witness?
An expert witness is a person with specialized knowledge or skills whose opinion may help a jury make sense of the factual evidence of a court case.
Expert witnesses provide independent opinions based on the information provided to them about the facts and circumstances of the case. They use their technical knowledge and experience to explain how what happened in the case conforms (or deviates) from the norm or accepted practices.
Once formally retained, an expert witness receives the case records from the attorney, reviews them and reports back. The law firm may then schedule a follow-up conversation regarding the expert’s opinions. Depending on those opinions, the firm may request additional work from the expert, such as a written report, deposition appearances or testimony in court. The law firm also may decide that the expert is no longer needed.
In all cases, experts are expected to use their knowledge to help explain what likely happened. Your opinions should be honest, no matter which side retains you.
What exactly do you do?
There are four types of work that you can be tapped to provide through Expert Institute. You can provide consultative reviews of a lawyer’s case, saying its strengths and weaknesses, given your experience. You can provide strategic research in your field; or simply review records to screen the case for merit. Finally, you can be enlisted to provide your expertise at depositions and trial.
It’s worth noting that if the case goes to trial, you’ll need a thick skin. If you’re going to give testimony that would hurt the opposition’s case, you can expect them to do everything in their power to discredit you. That’s not personal. It’s their job. You will need to defend your record and experience.
Requirements:
While there are no specific academic or professional requirements to sign up here, you cannot have any felony convictions. And, you also can’t be the target of a regulatory or enforcement proceeding. Nor can you have been debarred, excluded, suspended or otherwise not permitted to participate in U.S. government or state programs, including, the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals List or the GSA Excluded Parties List.
You’re also expected to decline any consulting arrangement that would pose a conflict of interest with your current employer, family or any group you’re associated with.
Outside of that, you must have deep knowledge and experience in the area or areas that you propose to opine about. And you’re expected to keep the client’s information completely private.
Pay
You set your own hourly pay. However, the site provides guidance with a calculator that indicates you should not price your services cheaply. On average, experts bill out at rates ranging from $300 to $400 per hour. But, the average is skewed a bit because surgeons and other specialized medical personnel often bill at rates exceeding $750 an hour.
Nurses typically bill out at $250 or more per hour. Accident reconstruction experts at about $300 an hour; addiction psychiatrists at $650; etc. You can find the site’s fee calculator here.
The site can manage your pay, if you prefer. Otherwise, you bill the law firm that enlists you directly. The site suggests that you ask for a retainer to cover the hours you’re likely to work through any segment of the job — i.e., if you’re providing a consultative review that’s likely to take 4 hours and you charge $250 an hour, you should collect a $1,000 retainer before you start. As you get close to completing that four hours, you can ask for an additional retainer, when the job requires more time.
Recommendations
If you have the deep experience to serve as an expert witness, we think this is a great opportunity and a great site to sign up to do it. Experts who have worked with this firm say they’re professional, helpful and responsive. If you want to sign up with Expert Institute, you can find them here.
Other good sites to serve as an expert witness include GLG and Round Table Group. If you want to increase your chance of getting called as an expert, we suggest you sign up with all three.
What their users say (from TrustPilot)
The referrals have been good, the arrangements to speak with the attorney have been careful. I have killed a number of cases with the discussion which is better than wasting time on both sides. On the other hand, I have a steady stream of ongoing cases which are interesting and productive. Occasional referral for area outside of my narrow (foot and ankle orthopedic) zone which I quickly avoid. Always professional.
Expert Institute is very professional and works tirelessly to ensure they are selecting and working with the right personnel who will represent their organization. I would recommend this organization to any security expert. Trishina Patel is fantastic. She cares a great deal about her work and those whom she works with. When she first reached out to me about working on a case she walked me through the entire process and was able to answer all of my questions in great detail.
Smooth and professional
The Expert Institute wanted to arrange for me to give advice on a complicated case. They set up the phone call very efficiently with my admin. When I ran over on a previous meeting, I was able to adjust the call with a simple text message. When I finally was able to get on the line, the representative did a great job running down some of the case details so that I could refresh my memory before talking to the attorney. It all went very smoothly and professionally.
The Expert Institute Team has been instrumental in connecting me with relevant cases where I can assist Counsel with their needs and my expertise in Hospitality Safety & Security related matters. The Expert Institute Team is Professional, Knowledgeable and Efficient!
Helpful staff
Helpful staff who connected me with opportunities that fit perfectly with my background. I feel like the work is a win-win for both me & the client.
I find the E.I. to be straightforward in their approach to connecting experts with clients seeking experts. No hidden fees or interference with the process after making the connection. The E.I. website and dashboard that they provide to the expert and their guidance provided at no cost is a major plus and extremely helpful in getting setup. The ongoing informational emails from the Expert Insider are full of useful and educational information.
(from Reddit)
I just did an Expert Witness 101 interview with the head of research at Expert Institute, which is the largest expert witness recruiting firm. We talked quite a bit about how to set your rate, what you can bill for, and what a typical case is typically worth.
- Is this legit? Expert Institute and similar firms often reach out to potential expert witnesses proactively. They have a vast network of attorneys and cases, and they’re always on the lookout for experts in various fields. So, it’s not uncommon for them to approach professionals, even if they haven’t explicitly shown interest in being an expert witness.
- Specialized Fields & Rates: Zach from Expert Institute mentioned that even niche specialties have a place in the expert witness world. Sometimes, the more specialized your field, the more valuable your expertise can be. For instance, there might be equipment or procedures that only a handful of professionals are familiar with, making their insights invaluable. Rates can vary based on your specialty, with some professionals charging anywhere from $350 to $2,000 an hour, depending on their expertise and the case’s specifics.
- Reputation Risk/Conflict of Interest: It’s valid to be concerned about potential conflicts, especially in a smaller field. However, firms like Expert Institute are aware of these challenges. They typically vet cases and experts to ensure there’s no conflict. If you’re transparent about your connections and potential conflicts, they’ll work with you to navigate these concerns.
You can find the full interview here:
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