Message from the Chairs

Welcome to the website for the Expert Witnesses Committee. We are starting a new year with the committee and we have a lot on our plates. We hope that you will find something among all of our work that interests you and that you will get involved with us. We are always looking for members to help, and there are plenty of projects, so get involved.

I want to welcome Joan Archer as our new co-chair. Joan has been active with our committee for a number of years, serving most recently as one of the chairs for our Programs Subcommittee. This means that Diane Sumoski has ended her term as a co-chair. We wish Diane well. She is not leaving us, just moving to another leadership role in the Section. Diane was instrumental in the beginning of this committee, and without her leadership, we would not have been successful in getting the committee up and running, and now, moving forward with a number of exciting programs.

John Bogart and Randy Kim have agreed to continue to serve as coeditors of our website. This year, the Section has asked a number of committees, including Expert Witnesses, to move their newsletter to an annual report format. John Strasburger and Wendy Couture will continue as editors of the Annual Report, and we plan to publish this just before the Section’s Annual Conference in April. We are always looking for authors, and this is a great way for you to get published. If you have an idea for an article, please contact John or Wendy. You will find all the contact information for our committee leadership on the subcommittee roster.

We are reorganizing our Programs, Membership, and Emerging Issues subcommittees and are looking for volunteers to work in these areas. Please contact Joan or me if you are interested. This year and next, our committee will be very active in tracking the public comment and meetings that will precede final approval of changes to Rule 26. These changes are discussed in an excellent article by Gregory Joseph, found on this website. These are important changes to the rule, and we encourage you to join with us as we provide information to our members about the proposal.

Finally, it is never too early to plan ahead. The Section’s Annual Conference is April 29–May 1, 2009, in my region of the country, Atlanta, Georgia. I have already seen the excellent programs planned for the conference, including a program by our committee! You will not want to miss this conference. Year in and year out, I find the programs presented at our conference to be among the best in the country. Please put this on your calendar now, and plan to join Joan and me in Atlanta next spring.

Arthur E. Justice, Jr.
Co-Chairs, Expert Witnesses Committee