Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism

Ethics and Experts Project

In 2001, the Mercer Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism received a grant from the Foundation of the American College of Trial Lawyers to produce a videotape devoted to training lawyers and law students about ethical issues that arise in connection with the use of expert witnesses. That project is now complete and is available, free of charge, in VHS and DVD formats. The vignettes concern a fictional case in which a middle-aged man dies, allegedly as a result of using a diet drug containing ephedrine as its active ingredient. In the course of seven scenes, a number of issues arise. Among these issues are: (1) when, if at all, must an attorney secure an expert opinion before filing a case or asserting a defense? (2) what assistance may an attorney ethically give an expert in preparing the expert's opinion? (3) what instructions may an attorney give an expert regarding notes and drafts related to an expert's report? (4) what contacts are permitted between an attorney and an adversary's experts? (5) when, if at all, may an attorney contact an expert previously consulted but not retained by an adversary? and (6) may a settlement be conditioned on the "trade" of an expert?

The videotape and Teacher's Manual have been sent to every law school library in the United States. For a preview of the Preface to the Teacher's manual, click here. A scene from the video is available for viewing below.

Streaming Video

In this scene, Professor Marshall is an expert witness for a plaintiff, but he receives a call directly from the defendant's attorney. The expert and the lawyer discuss whether such a direct contact is proper.

Large Video Clip (for T1 connections or faster)

Small Video Clip (for slower dial-up connections)

To view this scene, you must use Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.
To download Windows Media Player, click here.

For more information or to obtain a copy of the Ethics and Experts vignettes and teacher's manual, please contact Professor Longan at (478) 301-2639 or longan_p@mercer.edu.