Round Table Group

What’s Round Table Group?

Round Table Group is a marketplace for expert witnesses to search out lawyers who need their services and for lawyers to search out witnesses that may help with a case.

How it really works:

There are not any specific requirements to enroll. Nevertheless, you might be unlikely to get a gig unless you may have a few years of experience in your area of experience.

The location will direct you to plug in your name, title and upload an in depth resume. After that, you just wait to be contacted once they have a client request that matches your expertise.

You set your individual rates with the client. Nevertheless, RoundTable will offer you details about high and low rates in your area of experience, should you want that information.

Round Table Group review:

Round Table Group enlists freelance experts to register to function expert witnesses in trials and trial preparation, connecting hundreds of expert witnesses yearly. All of the location’s income comes from the law firms looking for experts. Experts pay no fees or commissions themselves.

What are your possibilities of finding a gig here? Distant.

Serving as an authority witness here — and, frankly, anywhere — is hit or miss. Even experts with amazing credentials are enlisted a couple of times a 12 months at most.

That’s just because the quantity of data you need to have at your fingertips to be a terrific expert witness is large. And, each case is more likely to be fairly unique. In a single instance, RoundTable needed to search out a veterinarian, who specialized in equine ophthalmology, as an illustration. That specific expert has not been needed since.

Requirements

Dan Rubin, national business development manager for RoundTable Group, says you need to have multiple years of experience in your field to search out work here. But the sector that you may have experience in may be almost anything.

The location has enlisted highschool athletic directors to discuss safety practices. Bartenders to discuss once they would cut off an inebriated customer. And academics to discuss a big selection of arcane areas of specialty that they’ve researched and written papers about. You could possibly be a law enforcement officer, with experience arresting drunk drivers. Or an engineer, with experience constructing large structures. Or a physical therapist — or a nurse.

What expert witnesses do

If you happen to’ve ever watched a courtroom drama, you most likely have an idea of what expert witnesses do. They’re called in by lawyers in high-dollar cases to assist a jury understand sometimes technical evidence.

Nevertheless, there’s quite a bit more to being an authority witness than what you see on t.v. Actually, expert witnesses are typically enlisted long before a case goes to trial. They review case files and tell attorneys — in person or in writing — their opinions of how the facts of the case conform or deviate from the norm.

As an example, in a wrongful death case, surgeons in the identical area of specialty because the accused is perhaps enlisted to take a look at the medical files to determine what happened. Expert witnesses on either side might take a look at the identical facts and opine about whether or not they imagine the accused was justified in acting as she or he did.

They’ll consider whether there have been extenuating circumstances that may need caused a foul final result, even for a talented surgeon doing a terrific job. Were there mistakes made? Or was the procedure particularly complicated or fraught with risk? The experts would each report back to the attorneys who hired them with their opinions.

Experts are at all times expected to present an honest opinion, no matter whether their opinion supports or damages the case of the lawyer who hires you.

Expert opinions

What in case your opinion is averse to your side’s interest? Two things might occur. The lawyer might hunt down one other expert. Or, the lawyer may opt to settle the case.

It’s only once you imagine your side’s case is justified — and the case continues — that you just’d be called in to testify in depositions (a pre-court hearing) or at trial.

Notably, too, should you are called in to testify, you’ll want to have a thick skin. The opposing counsel will do his or her best to make you look unqualified. It’s essential be each clear about your opinion on the case and about your individual record. Any uncertainty or stumbles can cost the case.

Because of this, experts who’ve testified successfully up to now usually tend to be called on again.

Pay

While job opportunities are rare for any given expert, once you do get a gig, it’s almost certain to pay well. Rubin says the most affordable hourly rate on Round Table Group is about $200 hourly. And most experts charge twice that or more. Rates between $400 and $800 an hour are common.

Nevertheless, the law firms — not Round Table — pay experts. Round Table simply adds a finders fee onto the expert’s rate, which is paid by the law firm, not the expert.

Getting gigs

As we’ve already mentioned, while hundreds of expert witnesses are enlisted yearly, your probability of being called for a gig depend upon what you do. Some fields are highly litigious. Others aren’t.

Nevertheless, you may increase your probability of getting gigs should you pay close attention to the legal environment in your field. If you happen to’re, say, a structural engineer and are aware of a constructing collapse, there’s a very good probability that somebody is planning to sue. This is able to be a very good time to call your contact at Round Table, says Rubin.

“We’ve got experts who principally do business development for us,” says Rubin. “They tell us a couple of case that was filed and say ‘I could really lend my expertise here. It is advisable to pitch me for this…”

Recommendations

If you may have the chops to function an authority witness, Round Table Group is one among three sites that we recommend. You possibly can sign up with Round Table here.

The opposite sites that we like are Expert Institute and GLG. Expert Institute is one among the biggest expert witness firms within the country and likewise charges no fees to experts. GLG not only finds expert witnesses, it also connects firms with consultants. Consequently, it offers somewhat more opportunity for seasoned experts in lots of fields.