How do lawyers find expert witnesses?
<p>When a lawyer needs an expert witness I assume he looks for three things:</p>

<ol>
<li>Unimpeachable credentials</li>
<li>Motivation to support his case</li>
<li>The ability to favorably impress a jury, via a compelling demeanor and convincing, lucid, and engaging testimony.</li>
</ol>

<p>For commonly litigated fields like medicine I assume there are directories and services for experts?  But what about less common fields?  Maybe statistics, ballistics, chemistry, applied physics?</p>

<p>Or, looking at this question another way: Suppose I am an expert in a field and I have been told that I have a gift for engaging a lay audience in it.  How might I alert interested lawyers to my willingness to serve as an expert witness?  Is there a competitive market for expert witnessing?</p>

<p><strong>tl;dr</strong>:  Yes, there is a competitive market for experts.  </p>

<p><strong>Background</strong></p>

<p>As an example, firms like <a href="http://www.compasslexecon.com/" rel="nofollow">Compass Lexicon</a>, <a href="http://www.analysisgroup.com/" rel="nofollow">Analysis Group</a>, <a href="https://www.cornerstone.com/" rel="nofollow">Cornerstone</a>, and <a href="http://www.charlesriverassociates.com/" rel="nofollow">Charles River</a> all do economic and forensic consulting, which is helpful for antitrust, securities, and corporate cases writ large.  In the U.S. they're frequently brought in by a client's legal team, so the analysis is generally protected by the work-product doctrine in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_26" rel="nofollow">Fed. Rules of Civ. Pro. 26(b)(3)</a>.  This speaks to #2 above.</p>

<p>Regarding #3 and #1, the firms bring in prominent faculty members or researchers to enhance the credibility of testimony.</p>

<p>If you're an expert in _______, a good starting point might be to get in touch with a few forensic _______ consulting firms.  By nature, they'd have their ear to the rail concerning upcoming litigation.</p>

trial witnesses