Expert Witness Agreement - Texas

Texas Expert Witness Engagement Agreement

Matter and Role Worksheet

Proceeding profile

Role classification — select before sharing substantive work

• ☐ Consulting expert only; no testimony presently intended.
• ☐ Testifying expert.
• ☐ Consulting work may convert to testifying work only through a signed change order.
• ☐ Expert's consulting opinions or materials may be reviewed by a testifying expert; counsel has evaluated the Rule 192.3(e) discovery consequence.
• ☐ Expert is also a fact witness; separate first-hand knowledge is identified here: [________________________________].

Expertise and opinion fit

Conflict and independence screen

• Parties, counsel, insurers, employers, products, properties, and material witnesses checked: [________________________________].
• Prior work, testimony, publications, financial interests, litigation, or relationships disclosed: [________________________________].
• Potential challenge or bias issue: [________________________________].
• ☐ Expert can offer independent opinions without an outcome commitment.
• ☐ Compensation is based on time or defined work, not the substance of an opinion, testimony result, settlement, or case outcome.

Disclosure and Discovery Plan

Texas Rule 195.5 disclosure package

• ☐ Name, address, and telephone number.
• ☐ Subject matter of expected testimony.
• ☐ General substance of mental impressions and opinions and a brief basis summary.
• ☐ All materials provided to, reviewed by, or prepared by or for the retained testifying expert in anticipation of testimony.
• ☐ Current resume and bibliography.
• ☐ Qualifications and publications authored during the previous ten years.
• ☐ Trial/deposition testimony list for the previous four years, subject to the attorney-fee-expert exception.
• ☐ Compensation statement.

Communication categories

Materials register

This Expert Witness Engagement Agreement (the "Agreement") is entered as of [__/__/____] by:

Retaining Counsel: [LAWYER AND FIRM], counsel for [CLIENT / PARTY], with an address of [ADDRESS] ("Counsel");

Client / Responsible Payor: [FULL LEGAL NAME], with an address of [ADDRESS] ("Client"); and

Expert: [FULL LEGAL NAME AND ENTITY, IF ANY], with an address of [ADDRESS] ("Expert").

Counsel, Client, and Expert agree as follows.

1. Matter and Role

1.1 Expert is engaged solely for [MATTER, PARTY, AND PRECISE ROLE] described in Exhibit A.

1.2 Expert's role is initially: ☐ consulting only ☐ testifying. A change requires a signed change order identifying the effective date, additional disclosure duties, deliverables, deadlines, and fees.

1.3 This Agreement does not guarantee that Expert will be designated, admitted, called, or permitted to offer any opinion. Counsel controls litigation decisions; Expert controls the substance of Expert's professional opinions and testimony.

1.4 Expert shall not accept instructions from another person concerning the Matter unless Counsel authorizes that person in writing.

2. Scope of Services

Expert shall perform only the selected tasks in Exhibit B:

• ☐ conflict and qualification review;
• ☐ document, data, image, specimen, site, or product review;
• ☐ inspection, testing, measurement, sampling, or reconstruction;
• ☐ research and methodology validation;
• ☐ damages or other calculation;
• ☐ oral consultation;
• ☐ written opinion outline;
• ☐ draft and final report;
• ☐ declaration or affidavit;
• ☐ deposition preparation and testimony;
• ☐ hearing or trial preparation and testimony;
• ☐ rebuttal or supplemental analysis; and
• ☐ other: [________________________________].

Any excluded task, destructive test, third-party laboratory, travel, major purchase, or work above $[____] requires written authorization.

3. Standards and Independence

3.1 Expert shall use the qualifications, methods, standards, facts, data, and assumptions identified in the opinion record. Expert shall promptly disclose a limitation, uncertainty, error rate, contrary source, missing input, changed opinion, or subject outside Expert's expertise.

3.2 Expert will offer only opinions Expert independently reaches and can support. Counsel may request clarification, identify contrary material, test assumptions, correct factual mistakes, and comment on legal relevance or form, but may not dictate an opinion or suppress a material qualification.

3.3 Expert shall distinguish personal observation, supplied facts, assumed facts, calculations, professional judgment, and legal assumptions. Expert will not give a legal conclusion unless Counsel identifies a lawful and appropriate basis for that testimony.

3.4 Fees are never contingent on designation, opinion content, admissibility, testimony, settlement, recovery, verdict, or outcome.

4. Materials and Data

4.1 Counsel shall maintain the master materials register in Exhibit C. Expert shall identify what was reviewed, relied on, rejected, created, changed, or missing.

4.2 Expert shall not alter source material. Tests, scripts, spreadsheets, models, photographs, measurements, and derived data must preserve provenance, inputs, versions, settings, and reproducibility information appropriate to the work.

4.3 Expert may use assistants or laboratories only if listed here with their role, qualifications, rate, confidentiality terms, and expected discoverability: [________________________________]. Expert remains responsible for reviewing and adopting any work included in Expert's opinion.

4.4 Privilege, work-product, confidentiality, protective-order, privacy, trade-secret, health-information, export, and personal-data handling instructions are stated in Exhibit D. A confidentiality label does not override a disclosure duty, subpoena, order, or governing rule.

5. Deliverables and Deadlines

5.1 The current scheduling order and rules control over a planning date in this Agreement. Counsel shall promptly provide any amended order or deadline.

5.2 Expert shall alert Counsel immediately if time, missing material, scope, illness, conflict, or another constraint threatens a deadline. Expert may not promise an extension on behalf of the court or another party.

5.3 Each draft and final deliverable must show a version identifier and date. The final report must identify opinions, bases, qualifications, considered materials, assumptions, limitations, and any other content required by the governing forum.

5.4 Expert shall promptly tell Counsel if a report or deposition answer should be amended or supplemented. Counsel and Expert shall follow Rule 195.6 and the current scheduling order.

6. Disclosure and Discovery

6.1 If Expert is designated to testify, Expert understands that Rule 194.3 routes testifying-expert disclosure through Rule 195 and that Rule 195.5 requires the items listed in the worksheet.

6.2 For this Texas state-court Matter, Rule 195.5(d) protects a draft expert report or draft disclosure. Rule 195.5(c) protects attorney–testifying-expert communications except to the extent they concern compensation, identify attorney-provided facts or data considered, or identify attorney-provided assumptions relied on. The parties shall not describe those protections more broadly than the rule.

6.3 Consulting-expert information shall be segregated. Before a testifying expert reviews a consulting expert's mental impressions or opinions, Counsel must approve the transfer after reviewing Rule 192.3(e).

6.4 Expert shall reasonably cooperate with disclosures, subpoenas, depositions, hearings, and document production authorized by Counsel or required by the tribunal. Objections, privilege assertions, protective relief, and production format are controlled by Counsel, subject to Expert's rights and duties.

7. Fees, Deposit, and Expenses

The agreed rate schedule is in Exhibit E and distinguishes:

7.1 Client shall pay an advance deposit of $[____]. Expert shall apply it to earned fees and approved expenses and return any unearned balance after final accounting, subject to a different lawful written arrangement stated here: [________________________________].

7.2 Expert shall invoice [MONTHLY / MILESTONE], itemizing date, person, task, time, rate, expense, and deposit balance. Undisputed amounts are due [____] days after receipt. The process for a prompt, good-faith billing dispute is: [________________________________].

7.3 Expenses above $[____], travel, lodging, third-party testing, equipment, and rush work require advance written approval. Receipt and travel-policy requirements are: [________________________________].

7.4 The parties acknowledge Rule 195.7's allocation: when the opposing party takes the oral deposition of the retained Expert, the retaining party must pay all reasonable Expert fees for preparing for, giving, reviewing, and correcting the deposition. Client and Counsel allocate responsibility for those charges as follows: [________________________________].

7.5 No automatic interest, collection fee, prevailing-party fee, or outcome premium applies unless stated here after enforceability review: [________________________________].

8. Scheduling, Deposition, and Trial

8.1 Expert shall reserve only dates confirmed in writing. Tentative settings, priority among matters, release dates, minimum charges, and cancellation windows are stated in Exhibit E.

8.2 Counsel shall prepare Expert on procedure, claims, defenses, prior testimony, exhibits, protected information, and expected examination without directing the substance of testimony.

8.3 Expert shall truthfully disclose compensation, prior testimony, publications, qualifications, potential bias, methodology, considered material, assumptions, and limitations as required.

8.4 If a subpoena, order, or setting conflicts with another obligation, Expert shall notify Counsel promptly and cooperate in seeking lawful resolution. Expert may not disregard compulsory process based solely on a payment dispute or termination notice.

9. Confidentiality and Records

9.1 Expert shall use Matter information only for this engagement and disclose it only to authorized team members, approved service providers, or as required by law, rule, subpoena, or order.

9.2 Expert shall use the security controls in Exhibit D and report a suspected loss, unauthorized access, or mistaken disclosure promptly to [CONTACT].

9.3 Expert shall preserve the complete engagement file until Counsel gives written disposition instructions after all preservation, discovery, appeal, subpoena, professional, insurance, and court-order obligations have been reviewed. No fixed five-year destruction rule is created by this Agreement.

9.4 On written instruction, Expert shall return, transfer, or securely destroy materials not required to be preserved, documenting the disposition. Counsel will retain the official litigation copy unless otherwise agreed.

10. Conflicts, Withdrawal, and Termination

10.1 Expert shall update the conflict disclosure if a new party, counsel, witness, insurer, employer, product, property, or financial interest appears.

10.2 Counsel may end the engagement on written notice, subject to earned fees, approved expenses, preservation, subpoena, and transition duties. A decision not to designate Expert does not authorize destruction or concealment of discoverable information.

10.3 Expert may request withdrawal for a material undisclosed conflict, inability to provide independent supportable opinions, illness, scope mismatch, unlawful instruction, or uncured payment failure. Expert shall give reasonable notice and cooperate in a lawful transition without compromising testimony or court duties.

10.4 Bankruptcy, insolvency, merger, or a payment dispute is not an automatic event that erases court, subpoena, preservation, or disclosure obligations.

11. Risk Allocation and Insurance

11.1 Each party is responsible for its own acts and obligations under this Agreement. No broad indemnity, defense duty, waiver of professional responsibility, or fees-earned liability cap applies.

11.2 Any negotiated risk allocation must identify the covered claim, fault standard, exclusions, defense control, settlement authority, insurance coordination, and limit here: [________________________________]. It may not control admissibility, testimony, subpoena compliance, or a tribunal's authority.

11.3 Expert's applicable professional, general, cyber, or other insurance is: [CARRIER, POLICY TYPE, LIMIT, AND EXPIRATION]. A certificate may be requested if relevant to the engagement.

12. Disputes and General Terms

12.1 The parties shall first send a written dispute notice describing the issue and requested resolution. They may agree to a conference or mediation without delaying a court deadline or compulsory process.

12.2 Governing law, jurisdiction, venue, arbitration, and jury terms, if any, require a separate case- and party-specific selection in Exhibit F. No forum, arbitration, or jury waiver is selected merely by leaving a bracketed option in this form.

12.3 A change to this Agreement or scope must be in an authenticated writing agreed by the affected parties. The current scheduling order and governing rules remain controlling.

12.4 The Agreement and completed exhibits are the entire agreement concerning this engagement. If a provision is unenforceable, it may be severed only if doing so does not compromise Expert independence, testimony, disclosure, preservation, or payment for completed work.

12.5 Counterparts and electronic signatures may be used under this authentication procedure: [________________________________]. Each party shall retain a complete executed copy.

12.6 Expert is an independent contractor and has no authority to bind Client or Counsel. Tax classification, reporting, benefits, and employment-law treatment are determined from the actual relationship and current advice, not this label alone.

Signatures

Retaining Counsel

Signature: ________________________________

Name and firm: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Client / Responsible Payor

Signature: ________________________________

Name and title: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Expert

Signature: ________________________________

Name and entity: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Exhibits

• Exhibit A: Matter, party, expert role, and opinion topics
• Exhibit B: Authorized tasks, excluded tasks, deliverables, and deadlines
• Exhibit C: Materials, data, assumptions, opinions, and version register
• Exhibit D: Confidentiality, protective order, privacy, security, and incident instructions
• Exhibit E: Rates, deposit, expenses, reservation, cancellation, deposition, and trial terms
• Exhibit F: Governing law and dispute terms, if affirmatively selected
• Exhibit G: Qualifications, publications, testimony history, conflicts, and compensation disclosure package

Final Review Checklist

• ☐ The forum is a Texas state-court civil case not governed by the Family Code, or a separate overlay is attached.
• ☐ Consulting/testifying status and any conversion are documented before substantive sharing.
• ☐ Opinion topics fit Expert's qualifications and methods under the current evidence rules.
• ☐ No opinion or fee is outcome-contingent.
• ☐ The current Rule 194.3 and Rule 195.5 testifying-expert disclosure framework is calendared.
• ☐ Materials, facts, data, assumptions, drafts, communications, and versions are segregated and logged.
• ☐ Rule 195.5(c) exceptions and Rule 195.5(d) draft protection are stated accurately.
• ☐ Rule 195.6 supplementation and Rule 195.7 deposition-fee allocation are operationalized.
• ☐ Rates, advance deposit, expenses, cancellations, and billing disputes are coherent.
• ☐ No broad indemnity, fees-earned cap, bankruptcy default, automatic fees, force majeure, jury waiver, or exclusive forum remains by default.
• ☐ Preservation and disposition follow the actual case and order rather than a fixed five-year rule.
• ☐ All unused options, drafting comments, and blank exhibits were completed or removed.

Sources and References

• Texas Rules of Civil Procedure — Rules 192, 194, and 195
• Texas Rules of Evidence — effective July 2, 2026