In Germany! where civil disputes are often resolved through detailed expert Using specialized opinions! a lawyer has the right to involve his own expert even before the trial. Such an opinion is submitted together with the claim or response! which allows the parties to build a strategy taking into account specialized knowledge. A similar approach should be introduced in Ukraine at the legislative level.
In the US! the practice of striking out expert opinions that are “convenient” for the parties is well Using specialized known. The judge has the right to hear another expert — an “amicus curiae!” that is! an impartial specialist who will help assess the objectivity of the previous opinions.
Lawyer’s tactics: initiative and preparation
Sometimes a lawyer has to become a detective. In a case about the division rcs data of land between co-owners! I drew attention to the fact that the expert opinion ignored the use of one side of the outbuildings that were in the use of the other. In an additional examination! this aspect was corrected! which changed the division of the plot.
I recommend that colleagues always personally participate in the make an efficient checklist before implementation examination process. This allows you to record possible violations and ask clarifying questions.
Secrets of formulating questions
I remember how once the outstanding lawyer of our time – Dmitry Zenkin jok: ” An expert answers questions the way they are asked .” At that time! I did not yet understand the full depth of this joke. The importance of correctly formulat questions became obvious to me only after my opponents “bombed” the case due to their own carelessness.
When expert opinions are a weapon
Among all the expert opinions! the most alarming are those that are frankly manipulative. For example! in a case about the distribution of an inheritance! one of the heirs submitt an opinion according to which the house should have been valu at a minimum amount due to its “complete uninhabitability.”
The opinion looked impressive: graphs! diagrams! photographs of the destruction. But I was not azb directory too lazy to invite another expert. It turned out that most of the “destruction” was minor things that could be eliminat with ordinary cosmetic repairs. As a result! we prov the market value of the house! and the inheritance was distribut fairly.