Engaging Experts

Hosted by Round Table Group

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Episodes

188

Latest episode

Sep 2026

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EN-US

About the show

After 25 years helping litigators find the right expert witnesses, Round Table Group’s network contains some of the world’s greatest experts. On this podcast, we talk to some of them about what’s new in their field of study and their experience as expert witnesses.

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60 recent

September 18, 202625 min

Engaging with Meteorology Expert, James Caron

In this episode… Our guest, James Caron, is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist and expert witness with nearly two decades of experience providing historical weather analysis for legal matters. In addition to his consulting practice, he leads meteorological operations across North America and Asia for Atmospheric G2, where his forecasts support critical decision-making in the energy sector. Mr. Caron discusses how he transitioned into expert witness work through his CCM certification and shares insights on maintaining objectivity, preparing defensible reports, and communicating uncertainty in a scientific discipline where absolute certainty is rarely possible. He also explains why many weather-related cases settle before trial and emphasizes the importance of staying within one's area of expertise, even turning down engagements when the available data cannot support a reliable opinion. Check out the full episode for our discussion on meteorological expert testimony, rebuttal reports, deposition preparation, working alongside other experts, and the role of scientific credibility in litigation.

August 25, 202633 min

Engaging with Real Estate and Property Management Expert, Scott Bennett

In this episode… Our guest, Scott Bennett is an expert witness in property management and premise liability with over 3 decades of experience. He's an accomplished writer, professional speaker, and serves on numerous property management boards. Rather than taking every engagement, Mr. Bennett carefully evaluates conflicts, fit, and capacity to ensure he can deliver thorough, credible work. He also highlights the importance of formal contracts and retainers, protecting both the expert and the attorney, and shares his methodology for building reports from extensive discovery documents. Check out the entire episode for our discussion on report writing, deposition preparation, and the evolving role of expert witnesses in the age of AI.

July 13, 202625 min

Engaging with Entertainment Management Expert, David Ciemny

In this episode… One bad contract clause, one opaque tour settlement, one “quick” call that turns into free strategy and suddenly a music business dispute is in court. We sit down with David Ciemny, CEO of Ciemny Inc., to talk about what expert witness work looks like in the entertainment industry and why it demands more than general business knowledge. David shares how a high-profile case opened the door, how he partners with teams like Round Table Group, and what attorneys are really listening for when they interview an expert. We also go deep on forensic tour accounting, common money pitfalls for artists, and why transparency in financial reporting can prevent disputes with management teams before they explode.

June 18, 202630 min

Engaging with Wine Expert, Melissa Smith

A wine collection can look like a hobby until it lands in a divorce, an estate fight, or a federal case. Then every bottle needs a defensible value, a paper trail, and an explanation that makes sense to people who have never read a wine list in their lives. We sit down with Melissa Smith, founder of Enotrias Elite Sommelier Services, to talk about wine collection appraisal, expert witness testimony, and the real-world mechanics of treating wine as a legal asset. Melissa walks us through how she went from fine dining to becoming the person attorneys call when inventories, valuations, and credibility matter. We dig into what she now asks on the first phone call, what she deliberately holds back, and why scope and boundaries protect both the expert and the client. We also get specific about expert witness contracts, a simple rate structure, and why a nonrefundable retainer can be the difference between a clean engagement and months of chaos.

June 10, 202638 min

Engaging with Environmental Expert, Mark Elmendorf

One of the fastest ways to lose credibility as an expert is simple: say more than you need to. Environmental consultant and expert witness Mark Elmendorf joins us to share what nearly 40 years of environmental consulting and courtroom work taught him about testimony, cross-examination, and building expert opinions that hold up when the other side comes swinging. We get into the real mechanics of expert witness selection and case intake: what attorneys ask for when they need a specialist in hazardous materials, regulatory analysis, contamination, or exposure scenarios, and what Mark asks back to avoid surprises. We talk conflict checks, why “just firewall it” can create risk, and how expert work often plays out in insurance-driven environmental litigation where carriers push hard to settle. Mark also breaks down his expert report writing strategy in detail: outline first, choose opinion points up front, keep each opinion distinct, and support it with clear references, cost analysis, and industry standards. We discuss rebuttal reports, why personal attacks are a credibility trap, and how strong writing and tight proofreading can be as important as technical knowledge. Finally, we cover practical trial prep, document overload, and the habits that keep an expert attorney relationship smooth from engagement letter to the witness stand. If you care about expert witness best practices, environmental litigation support, and writing reports that survive scrutiny, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this episode with a colleague, and leave a review with the biggest expert-witness challenge you want us to tackle next.

May 27, 202630 min

Engaging with Horticulturist Expert, Mark Czarnota

A crop can look fine from the road and still be in freefall, and a “damaged” tree can be one good growing season away from recovery. That gray zone is where expert witnesses earn their keep, and where bad assumptions can turn into huge losses. We sit down with Dr. Mark Czarnota, associate professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, to unpack what happens when weed science, herbicide drift, and plant physiology collide with legal deadlines. He shares how expert witness engagements actually arrive, why staying current in pesticide research and specialty crop systems is a daily job, and what it takes to explain technical findings to attorneys, insurers, and lay readers without watering down the science. We also get practical about credentials that come up in court, including certified arborist expectations and pesticide licensing. Dr. Czarnota walks through depositions from the expert chair, including how lawyers try to corner new witnesses, why sticking to facts protects your credibility, and the courtroom lesson that led to a mistrial early in his career. We dig into report writing strategy, valuation challenges for injured ornamentals and trees, and the contract clauses experts must read closely before signing. If you work in agricultural litigation, horticulture litigation, or any technical field where the truth has to survive cross-examination, this conversation maps the terrain. Subscribe for more expert-focused conversations, share this with someone who testifies for a living, and leave a review with the most important rule you think every expert witness should follow.

April 27, 202643 min

Engaging with Forensic Engineer Expert, James Cohen

Engineering failures rarely start with a single crack or a single bad decision. They start with messy constraints, unclear scopes, missing documents, rushed timelines, and people making judgment calls under pressure. In this episode, we connect with James Cohen, an award-winning forensic engineer and seasoned expert witness with more than 40 years in structural engineering, failure analysis, testing, and code work. He shares the moments that pulled him into forensic engineering, plus the hard-earned habits that keep an expert credible when the stakes are high. We dig into what actually governs an engineering opinion in litigation: the contract, the scope of work, and the specific codes and standards that were invoked at the time. James explains why working across countries is often less about geography and more about figuring out which standards apply and what the factors of safety really mean. From there, we get highly practical on expert witness workflow: the key questions to ask on the first attorney call, how licensing and conflicts shape whether you should accept a matter, why budgets have become a bigger part of modern engagements, and when it makes sense to bring in MEP or cost estimating support. James also shares how he approaches depositions and trials, including simple demonstratives that help juries understand compression, torsion, and shear, and why report writing should be built for a lay reader without losing technical rigor. If you’re an attorney hiring experts or an engineer stepping into testimony, this one will sharpen your process. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with someone who works in litigation support, and leave a review with your biggest expert witness red flag or best first-call question.

April 21, 202623 min

Engaging with Employment Law Attorney, Derek Smith

One weak expert can turn a strong case into a courtroom disaster, and one great expert can change the entire settlement conversation. In this podcast episode, we sit down with nationally recognized employment attorney Derek Smith of Derek Smith Law Group PLLC to talk about what actually works when hiring, managing, and preparing expert witnesses in sexual harassment and employment discrimination cases. We start with the moment Derek learned the stakes firsthand: a first case that forced him to get serious about emotional distress damages, diagnosis, and how expert testimony holds up under scrutiny. From there we get practical about expert witness vetting, including the must ask questions that protect you from the nightmare scenario of a judge refusing to qualify your expert after you’ve already spent months and thousands preparing for trial. Then we dig into the mechanics that trip people up: privilege and confidentiality, what is discoverable, why every document you give an expert matters, and how compensation discussions can create bias issues. Derek also shares his unorthodox approach to deposition and cross-examination prep, including improv based warmups to help experts stay calm and sharp, plus a mock cross that is tougher than the real thing. We wrap with engagement letter terms, flat fees vs hourly billing, demonstratives and visuals that persuade juries, and why long-term relationships with experts are a career advantage. If you work with expert witnesses, want better trial preparation, or simply want to understand how credible testimony is built, this conversation is a practical guide. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest expert witness lesson learned.

March 31, 202624 min

Engaging with Civil Engineer & Snow Sports Expert, Randy Wall

Randy Wall is both a certified instructor and a licensed civil engineer, and he shows us how that combo changes everything when snow sports accidents land in court. Randy explains how time gaps complicate site visits, why a consistent report template keeps testimony inside the “lane,” and how to translate dynamic crashes into clear, simple language that juries trust. Visuals are a cornerstone of his approach. He hand-draws clean diagrams to ground perspective and sequence, and when the record supports it, he partners with a crash reconstruction expert to build compelling animations that align physics with documented facts. We also map the standards landscape. Snow sports live inside a patchwork of state statutes, county rules, ANSI ropeway codes, ASTM equipment standards, and the National Ski Areas Association Responsibility Code—many of them voluntary. Randy shows how real cases hinge on duty of care, standard of care, breach, cause-in-fact, and proximate cause, not on blanket rules. He walks through the cascade of decisions that often leads to injury and how to separate foreseeability from hindsight. On the business side, Randy lays out his contract strategy: hourly, on retainer, with a thorough agreement. And how he screens for attorneys who want independent analysis rather than a prefabricated conclusion. His closing playbook for experts is crisp: prepare so your report leads, answer only the question asked in deposition, and never volunteer a tangent that opens new lines of attack. If you value sharp thinking, clean visuals, and courtroom-ready explanations, this conversation delivers. Subscribe, share with a colleague who works in litigation or risk, and leave a quick review telling us your biggest takeaway.

March 9, 202621 min

Engaging with Land Surveyor Expert, Frank Ferrantello

A map can tell the truth and still confuse everyone in the room. That’s why we sat down with veteran surveyor and expert witness Frank Ferrantello to unpack how he turns dense site data into clean, visual evidence that judges and juries actually understand. From adding targeted photos to forensic surveys to framing testimony in everyday terms, Frank shows how clarity and not theatrics, moves cases forward. We dive into the shrinking pipeline of seasoned land surveyors and why real expertise goes beyond data collection. Frank breaks down the legal backbone of surveying in New York: easements, boundaries, sidewalk liability, public versus private space. And how staying current on statutes and case law changes outcomes. He shares memorable examples from urban disputes, like when a plaza looks private but is governed by public agreements, and how mapping those lines can reset responsibility and reshape a claim. Frank also opens his playbook on professionalism: starting each matter with conflict checks, refusing the hired-gun mentality, and deciding whether the facts deserve his name. His preparation focuses on organized digital records, concise answers for cross, and the discipline to let evidence speak for itself. When a case lands late, tight systems and visual exhibits help him deliver fast without bending the truth. If you care about expert testimony, construction law, real estate disputes, or how to make complex information simple and persuasive, this conversation delivers practical insights you can use today. Hit follow, share this with a colleague who wrangles maps or liability, and leave a quick review to tell us what part changed how you think about evidence.