Information- the right amount/type for experts
HP Accounting expert witness
When starting an expert engagement the attorneys typically send a case file to the expert. Usually the file contains some pleadings, various discovery and other items. Hopefully the complaint, a reply (though these are sometimes very bare-bones) and a case status report are present. Later, a trial brief or similar document is helpful for an expert to understand the case.
When it is a financial expert the discovery may include financial statements, tax returns and even bank statements.
Sometimes there can be other items such as prior valuations, opposing expert reports or even correspondence to give context to financial/legal transactions.
Discovery disputes/missing documents
Sometimes parties try to hide information in an effort to stymie the opposition. Almost always the documents requested are necessary for the expert/litigation and are not privileged. Privilege is more for attorney work product and attorney/client communication. Documents prepared prior to litigation in the ordinary course of business are not privileged and must be disclosed.
I have seen multiple cases where tax returns have been withheld. There is ample case law such as PALOMBA WEINGARTEN, Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Respondent; POINTE SAN DIEGO RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY which requires returns be disclosed. This is because the information is more reliable in a tax return, and isn’t available elsewhere. A redaction of ssn’s and dob’s etc is required prior to disclosing.
Too much information vs not enough
In some cases I have received up to or more than 100,000 pages of documents. This obviously takes an exorbitant amount of time to go through. Sometimes a chart/table of contents can be helpful, or the use of an assistant to organize the documents is appropriate. However, when receiving oodles of bank statements or similar, not being familiar with certain coding or the context/importance can make these items useless.
One scenario where this level of detail is important is in a forensic case where tracing/summarizing is needed. Those cases are very labor intensive and still require a top-level view to understand the meaning of all the little pieces of information.
It is always important to strike a balance between not enough and too much, and receiving the correct information. Without enough information it can be difficult to reach a conclusion.
HP Accounting expert witness