Being a trial consultant is not generally a full time job. A
trial consultant is brought in to help an attorney make his case
during a trial based on knowledge the consultant has in whatever
his field is. The consultant earns an hourly rate for his
assistance before and during a trial.
Some occupations lend themselves more naturally toward
opportunities to be a trial consultant. Doctors are frequently used
as trial consultants, as are psychologists or counselors, forensics
experts or ballistics experts. Almost any occupation carries the
possibility of being needed as a trial consultant, depending on the
needs of a specific trial. However, in the named professions, an
expert has more opportunity to become known as a trial consultant
and to perform in that capacity on a regular basis.
The key to being a trial consultant is to be considered an
expert in a given field. An attorney calls in a consultant to prove
a point in his testimony, so he wants to call in someone whose word
will be considered authoritative. For this reason, a trial
consultant will probably be older, having gained many years of
experience in his field. In most cases, a trial consultant needs to
be highly educated in his area of expertise, often possessing a PhD
or at least a Master’s degree.
Someone who’s interested in being a trial consultant needs to
decide why he’s doing it, what he hopes to gain and what he’s not
willing to lose. Some unethical attorneys offer trial consultants
exorbitant amounts of money to testify a certain way about a
disputed matter, even if the desired testimony is not necessarily
true. A consultant needs to be aware he’s putting his professional
reputation on the line if he agrees to such a thing, and he needs
to know whether ethics or money is more important to him.
If someone is interested in being considered as a trial
consultant, he should consider joining the American Society of
Trial Consultants. A trial consultant has the option of setting his
own hourly rate. This could be anywhere from $75 up to $300 an
hour, but $200 is a more average rate.
