Damages: Recap from TLI Litigation Summit, Part V

By Gina F. Rubel
Special to the Legal

The damages portion of The Legal Intelligencer’s first Litigation Summit in September was presented by Frank D. Tinari, the principal economist of the Tinari Economics Group, along with Kristin Kucsma from the same organization, Jane A. North, a partner with Deasey, Mahoney, Valentini & North, and Lawrence R. Cohan, a shareholder with Anapol Schwartz. During the CLE, the panelists shared the following:

• As it relates to economic experts, it is important to certify that the witness is not related to any of the parties to the subject action and that the witness has no financial interest in the case beyond his or her professional fees.
• Economic experts must abide by the National Association of Forensic Economics Statement of Ethical Principles and Principles of Professional Practice.
• When providing an expert opinion and damage reports, experts must adhere to ethical rules relating to engagement, compensation, diligence, disclosure, consistency, knowledge, discourse and responsibility.
• A personal injury expert damages report should include a certification, purpose of appraisal, opinion of economic losses, background of facts and assumptions, components of analysis, and analyses of the various forms of damages being alleged.
• Real wages can’t grow faster than productivity growth, which depends on the savings rate. If the U.S. continues to spend more than it saves, productivity and real wages will fall.
• It is important that the expert witness understand how to deliver complex data and images to a jury without making it difficult for the jury to understand.
• A solid coordination between the expert and the attorney is essential for an effective presentation of economic issues in trial testimony.

Gina F. Rubel is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications, a strategic marketing and public relations agency with a niche in legal marketing. A former trial attorney, she is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Rubel and her agency have won many awards for legal communications, PR, media relations, website and graphic design, strategic planning, corporate philanthropy and leadership. She maintains a blog, is a contributor to National Law Review, The Legal Intelligencer Blog, AVVO Lawyernomics and The Huffington Post. You can find her on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter. For more information, go to www.FuriaRubel.com.