Expert Witness Agreement - New York

PRACTICE SETTING MUST BE SELECTED BEFORE SIGNING

New York state-court and federal-court expert procedures are not interchangeable.
Complete the forum and role screens below, incorporate the scheduling order and local
rules, and identify whether the Expert is consulting only, expected to testify, or
changing roles. This Agreement does not create privilege or work-product protection
and does not override disclosure, subpoena, professional, or court-ordered duties.

EXPERT WITNESS ENGAGEMENT AGREEMENT — NEW YORK

This Expert Witness Engagement Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made as of
[__/__/____] by and between:

Retaining Counsel and Expert agree as follows.

1. Forum and Role Screen

1.1 Governing Proceeding

☐ New York state court, subject to the CPLR, applicable Uniform Rules, local rules,
orders, and the assigned judge's practices.

☐ United States District Court for the [________________] District of New York,
subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence, local
rules, scheduling orders, and the assigned judge's practices.

☐ Arbitration, agency, or other tribunal: [________________________________].

1.2 Expert's Role

☐ Consulting expert not presently expected to testify.

☐ Testifying expert.

☐ Treating professional who may offer expert testimony.

☐ Role to be determined in writing after the conflict, qualification, and methodology
screens are complete.

No change from consulting to testifying status is effective until Retaining Counsel
confirms it in writing and addresses resulting disclosure and preservation obligations.

2. Engagement and Scope

2.1 Retaining Counsel engages Expert to perform only the services selected in
Exhibit A, which may include record review, inspection, testing, analysis, conferences,
declaration or affidavit preparation, disclosure assistance, report preparation,
deposition, hearing, and trial testimony.

2.2 Expert will form and express independent opinions. Compensation is for time and
services and is not contingent on the outcome, the substance of an opinion, admissibility,
settlement, or the amount recovered.

2.3 Expert will not provide legal advice, make litigation decisions, communicate with
represented parties, obtain records without authorization, or contact the court, jurors,
opposing counsel, or opposing experts unless Retaining Counsel gives written direction or
lawful process requires the communication.

2.4 Retaining Counsel controls filings, service, legal arguments, privilege assertions,
and compliance with court deadlines. Expert remains responsible for the accuracy and
professional integrity of Expert's work and testimony.

3. Conflict and Qualification Screen

Before substantive work begins, Expert will disclose:

• present or prior work for any party, attorney, insurer, employer, treating provider,
  vendor, or other materially involved person or organization;

• financial, professional, academic, personal, or litigation relationships that could
  create an actual or apparent conflict;

• licenses, certifications, disciplinary history, testimony restrictions, exclusions,
  and material challenges to Expert's qualifications or methodology;

• publications, presentations, prior testimony, and compensation information needed for
  the selected forum; and

• any use of assistants, laboratories, contractors, or automated tools in the engagement.

Retaining Counsel will provide a conflict list in Exhibit B. Expert will update the
conflict disclosure promptly if new information arises.

4. Information, Testing, and Chain of Custody

4.1 Retaining Counsel will identify the materials supplied, their source, and any limits
on use or disclosure. Expert will maintain a materials log using Exhibit C.

4.2 Expert will identify additional information reasonably needed and will distinguish
facts or data supplied by counsel from facts or data independently obtained.

4.3 No destructive testing, consumption of evidence, alteration of original material,
or transfer of physical evidence may occur without a written protocol approved by
Retaining Counsel and any consent or court authorization that may be required.

4.4 Expert will document custody, condition, transfer, testing, and return of physical or
digital evidence. Expert will not place confidential case material into an external system
or service unless Retaining Counsel approves the system and transmission method in writing.

5. Opinions and Methodology

5.1 Expert will use methods Expert can explain and support, identify material assumptions
and limitations, and distinguish preliminary impressions from final opinions.

5.2 Expert will not omit a material contrary fact, overstate the certainty of an opinion,
or adopt an opinion supplied by Retaining Counsel. Expert will promptly disclose any
material change in opinion, basis, qualification, or supporting information.

5.3 Retaining Counsel may test an opinion, request clarification, identify contrary
evidence, and edit a draft for accuracy or clarity. Retaining Counsel may not require
Expert to give an opinion Expert does not independently hold.

5.4 No opinion or report is guaranteed to be admitted. Admissibility is determined by the
tribunal under the law and record applicable to the proceeding.

6. New York State-Court Disclosure Protocol

This section applies when the Matter is in New York state court.

6.1 To support a response under C.P.L.R. 3101(d)(1)(i), Expert will timely provide
Retaining Counsel with:

• the subject matter on which Expert is expected to testify;
• the substance of the facts and opinions on which Expert is expected to testify;
• Expert's qualifications; and
• a summary of the grounds for each opinion.

In a medical, dental, or podiatric malpractice action, counsel may omit the name of a
medical, dental, or podiatric expert from the statutory response, but the other required
information remains subject to disclosure.

6.2 Expert understands that further disclosure may be ordered upon the showing and on the
terms specified in C.P.L.R. 3101(d)(1), and that treating or retained medical, dental, and
podiatric professionals are subject to the statute's separate provisions.

6.3 Confidentiality labels do not create immunity from disclosure. Trial-preparation
materials are governed by C.P.L.R. 3101(d)(2), including its substantial-need and
undue-hardship standard and its protection for mental impressions, conclusions, opinions,
and legal theories.

6.4 Expert will promptly give Retaining Counsel information needed to amend or supplement
a materially incomplete, incorrect, or misleading disclosure response under C.P.L.R.
3101(h).

7. Federal-Court Disclosure and Discovery Protocol

This section applies when the Matter is in federal court.

7.1 If Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) requires a written report, Expert will prepare and sign
a report containing:

• a complete statement of all opinions and the basis and reasons for them;
• the facts or data considered;
• exhibits to be used to summarize or support the opinions;
• qualifications and publications authored in the previous ten years;

• cases in which Expert testified at trial or by deposition during the previous four years;
  and

• compensation for study and testimony.

If Rule 26(a)(2)(C) applies instead, Expert will provide the subject matter and a summary
of the facts and opinions for counsel's disclosure.

7.2 Expert will meet the scheduling order. Any default timing in Rule 26(a)(2)(D) applies
only when no stipulation or court order sets a different schedule.

7.3 Under Rule 26(b)(4), draft reports and disclosures receive trial-preparation protection.
Attorney–expert communications with a reporting expert also receive protection, except
to the extent they concern compensation, identify facts or data counsel provided and the
expert considered, or identify assumptions counsel provided and the expert relied upon.
The parties will not describe all communications as privileged or immune from discovery.

7.4 A disclosed expert may be deposed. If a Rule 26(a)(2)(B) report is required, the
deposition occurs after the report is provided. Discovery time will be billed under
Exhibit D, subject to Rule 26(b)(4)(E), court order, and applicable local practice.

7.5 Expert will timely provide additions or changes needed for supplementation under
Rule 26(e)(2).

7.6 Expert will cooperate with Retaining Counsel's Rule 702 review of qualifications,
helpfulness, sufficient facts or data, reliability of principles and methods, and reliable
application to the facts. Nothing in this Agreement predetermines the court's ruling.

8. Confidentiality and Security

8.1 Expert will use nonpublic case information only for the Matter and disclose it only
to authorized members of the engagement team, as required by law, or as directed by the
tribunal.

8.2 Expert will use the security measures in Exhibit E, report suspected loss or
unauthorized access promptly, and preserve affected systems and records for investigation.

8.3 Retaining Counsel does not promise that communications, drafts, notes, or files are
privileged or protected. When disclosure is required, Expert will notify Retaining Counsel
when legally permitted and will cooperate with a lawful protective-order or confidentiality
procedure.

9. Preservation and File Disposition

9.1 Expert will preserve the materials, notes, data, drafts, communications, billing records,
and other items identified in Exhibit F from engagement through written release by
Retaining Counsel. No fixed retention period should be inserted without considering the
case, appeals, collateral proceedings, court orders, professional rules, and lawful holds.

9.2 Expert will suspend routine deletion when Retaining Counsel issues a preservation
notice or when Expert otherwise has notice that material may be required for the Matter.

9.3 At written closeout, Expert will return, transfer, or securely destroy materials as
Retaining Counsel directs, except for records Expert must retain by law or professional
obligation. Expert will identify any retained material and the basis for retention.

10. Fees, Deposit, and Expenses

10.1 Rates are stated in Exhibit D by task. The parties will separately state rates for
review, conferences, report work, deposition, testimony, travel, waiting time, cancellation,
and support personnel.

10.2 Retaining Counsel will pay an advance deposit of $[________________]. The deposit is
applied to invoices, replenished when it falls below $[________________], and any unused
balance is refunded after final reconciliation.

10.3 Expert will invoice ☐ monthly ☐ at milestones stated in Exhibit D. Undisputed
amounts are due within [____] days. A party disputing an item will identify the item and
basis promptly and will pay the undisputed balance on time.

10.4 Expenses exceeding $[________________] require advance written approval, except for
an emergency measure reasonably necessary to preserve evidence or comply with lawful
process.

10.5 No payment term authorizes Expert to withhold subpoenaed evidence, disregard a court
order, alter an opinion, or condition truthful testimony on payment.

11. Scheduling, Cancellation, and Testimony

11.1 Current deadlines and reserved dates are listed in Exhibit G. Retaining Counsel
will notify Expert promptly of changes.

11.2 Cancellation charges, if any, must be stated in Exhibit D and tied to time reasonably
reserved or work reasonably lost. Expert will mitigate avoidable cancellation loss.

11.3 Expert will prepare for and give truthful testimony, bring only materials authorized
or required, and notify Retaining Counsel promptly of any subpoena, order, or third-party
request concerning the Matter.

11.4 Retaining Counsel will not instruct Expert to evade lawful process. Expert will not
produce material directly to a requester without giving Retaining Counsel notice when
notice is legally permitted.

12. Term and Termination

12.1 This Agreement continues until completed or terminated in writing.

12.2 Either party may terminate for material breach after [____] days' written opportunity
to cure, or immediately for a conflict, threatened professional violation, demand for false
or misleading work, nonpayment materially impairing continued work, or inability to meet
a material deadline.

12.3 Termination does not cancel duties imposed by subpoena, court order, disclosure rule,
preservation obligation, or professional law. Expert will provide an orderly transition and
a final invoice and will not represent that Retaining Counsel may suppress an unfavorable
opinion merely by ending the engagement.

13. Work Product and Use of Deliverables

13.1 Expert retains ownership of preexisting methods, tools, forms, and know-how. Upon
payment, Client receives a nonexclusive license to use engagement-specific deliverables for
the Matter and related appeals or enforcement proceedings.

13.2 Retaining Counsel may not reuse Expert's name, opinion, report, or testimony in an
unrelated matter or public promotion without written consent, except for a use required by
law or the public record.

13.3 This ownership clause does not determine whether any item is discoverable, admissible,
privileged, protected, or subject to production.

14. Contract Disputes

14.1 New York law governs this Agreement, except that the law and rules of the tribunal
govern litigation conduct, disclosure, evidence, subpoenas, and testimony.

14.2 Before filing a contract action, the parties will confer in good faith. They may select:

☐ New York courts located in [COUNTY], subject to jurisdiction and venue law.

☐ Confidential mediation through [PROVIDER].

☐ Binding arbitration through [PROVIDER] under [RULE SET], limited to payment and
contract disputes between the signatories.

Any mediation or arbitration clause does not bind the Client unless the Client signs below,
does not bind nonparties or the tribunal, and does not restrict compliance with discovery,
subpoena, reporting, preservation, or testimony duties.

15. General Terms

15.1 This Agreement and its completed exhibits are the entire agreement about the
engagement. Amendments must be in a writing signed by the affected parties.

15.2 Expert may not delegate substantive opinion work without written approval. Approved
assistants must be identified, qualified, supervised, and billed as stated in Exhibit D.

15.3 Neither party may assign this Agreement without written consent, except that Retaining
Counsel may transfer administrative responsibility within the same law firm after notice.

15.4 If a provision is unenforceable, it will be applied to the maximum lawful extent and
the remaining provisions will continue.

15.5 Counterpart and electronic signatures evidence the signers' agreement to the same
instrument.

16. Signatures

Client acknowledgment is required if Client is directly responsible for payment or is to be
bound by Section 14:

Client Signature: ______________________________________

Printed Name and Title: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Exhibits

☐ Exhibit A — Scope, questions presented, and excluded services

☐ Exhibit B — Parties, counsel, witnesses, providers, insurers, and conflict list

☐ Exhibit C — Materials and chain-of-custody log

☐ Exhibit D — Rates, deposit, invoices, expenses, cancellation, and discovery fees

☐ Exhibit E — Confidentiality, security, approved systems, and incident contacts

☐ Exhibit F — Preservation scope, hold contacts, and closeout instructions

☐ Exhibit G — Disclosure, report, deposition, hearing, and trial schedule

Sources and References

• N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3101, official New York Senate consolidated law:
  https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/3101

• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, official U.S. Courts current rules PDF:
  https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf

• Federal Rules of Evidence, official U.S. Courts current rules PDF:
  https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-evidence.pdf