What is the expert like to work with? Is she "user friendly?" Is he personable? Does she return phone calls or emails in a timely way? Most importantly, does he meet deadlines? Try not to confuse assertiveness with rude behavior. A competent expert may know more than you about a narrow area of the law such as the criteria for involuntary hospitalization. He may have done more medical malpractice cases than you. He may rattle off what records he wants, why he wants them and he won't accept a "no" without good reason. None of us likes to have someone trample on our ego, but remember that a "marshmallow" may make your life easier now but may come back to haunt you at his deposition or on the stand. His assertive-rude behavior could be his way of trying to impress you.
Although experts sometimes promise more than they can deliver, I have
found that some attorneys need to be more realistic about what they can
and should expect from experts. For example, I recently spoke with two
attorneys who did not retain me because they were looking for an expert
in New Jersey who spent most of his time running a clinic for the
evaluation of potentially violent people. Other than a prison, I know of
no such facility. I tried to explain this to them but to no avail.
