An expert witness can come in handy when it comes time to appear before a judge. When a third-party has the knowledge and experience to qualify as an expert in a field, their testimony can make or break the outcome of a case. When dealing with a financial expert witness, it may be helpful to know the types of things they can do.
Table of Contents
1. Review of Financial Information and Assemble a Report
Some legal matters may require the parties to produce a plethora of financial information. Depending on the type of case, this may be more than just your average bank statements. These may wind up being complicated and multi-faceted documents that then have to be read and analyzed. Engaging a financial expert witness can help the parties make sense of the documentation provided. An expert typically reviews the evidence and then writes a report breaking it all down into easier to understand terms.
2. Educate the Judge and Jury on the Findings
When reporting to court or mediation, a financial expert witness’s primary function is to then tell the court, jury and parties present what the evidence reviewed has to say about the case at hand. They do this by using examples that are easier to understand and language that is more common for non-experts to relate to. Sometimes an expert witness will put together a visual aid, like a chart or PowerPoint presentation to make the presentation of this evidence easier to absorb.
3. Offer an Expert Opinion on the Evidence
Finally, an expert witness is asked to render an opinion one way or the other on the evidence reviewed. For example, if there is a case concerning money laundering, the expert may be asked if they can determine where the money originated and the channels it went through to get clean. They will then point to specific examples which offer support for the opinion.
Engaging the services of an expert financial witness may become necessary if dealing with unfamiliar information. Find someone who can present complex information in easy-to-understand ways.