Instant Impact: Changes to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B) on Communications Between Counsel and Testifying Expert Witnesses

Ryan Haas and David Tecson, attorneys with Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., led a webinar titled “The Instant Impact of Changes to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B) (Dec. 1, 2010) on Communications Between Counsel & Testifying Expert Witnesses” on March 3, 2011 for ExecSense, a publisher of webinars led by top business executives, legal executives and industry experts.

The webinar covered a time efficient way to be in-the-know on the most up-to-date facts and ramifications of the changes to this procedural rule and how to take proactive steps on behalf of current and prospective clients it could impact the most, as Rule 26(a)(2)(B) no longer permits discovery of all data “or other information” considered by the testifying expert witness. Haas and Tecson, skilled on the changes to FRCP 26(a)(2)(B) and its implications for communications between counsel and testifying expert witnesses, focused on:

• Perspective on the impact of the FRCP rule changes on the ability of attorneys and testifying experts to communicate more openly, what types of information will constitute “the facts or data considered by the witness” in forming his/her opinions and thereby still be discoverable, whether testifying experts will be freer to take notes and prepare draft reports, whether the practice of hiring additional, non-testifying, consulting experts whose documents and communications are generally protected from disclosure will continue, and how the overall practices of testifying expert witnesses may be impacted by this important rule change;
• The 10 questions being asked the most by litigators and their clients with respect to how this rule change will impact them and what proactive steps they should be taking; and
• Case studies of what other litigators are doing for their clients, now and in the future, based on this rule change.