Wills, Estates and Trusts Conference: Estate Litigation


Course Date: November 4, 2005

7:45 – 8:45 am
OPTIONAL ETHICS SESSION: “CLE-TV: Ethical Issues—Ask the Experts 2011”

  • World-class expert introduced (30+ clips of trial testimony)
  • Cross-examiner’s problems
  • Expert's pedestal and expert's problems
  • The structure of every opinion: O = R + 2F
  • End point opinions, subordinate opinions, and bedrock findings and assumptions
  • Critical listening skills (a quick test)

 

  • The every-case-forever, schematic chart introduced
  • Five categories of expert opinions
  • Ten types of expert rules
  • X and Y factors defined
  • Scientific vs. experiential rules (science vs. art)

 

  • Non-expert rules and the cloak of expertise
  • Expert's rule's essential factors ("necessary" and "sufficient")
  • Expert's weighing process
  • Critical listening skills (2nd quick test)
  • Two incredibly important—and easy to master—techniques


Lunch (on your own): 12:00 - 1:00 pm 

  • Attacks vs. expert’s X factors
  • The certainty scale and two archetypal arguments
  • Six sources of assumptions
  • Attacking expert’s findings derived through expert methods
  • Attacking expert’s findings derived through non-expert methods
  • Expert's self-anointed pedestal-status (3rd quick test)

 

  • Expert's three attacks vs. Y factors
    • relevance
    • not established
    • weight
  • The Perfection line of questioning
  • Attacking expert's double standard re career
  • Attacking expert's double standard re case

 

4:30 p.m. Adjourn