One of the easiest and most effective ways to expand your expert witness practice is to be responsive to new case inquiries from lawyers. Trial lawyers are very busy and must operate under court-imposed constraints. Often times lawyers, rightly or wrongly, will hire the first qualified expert who gets back to them. It is therefore a best business development practice for expert witnesses to publicize their cell phone numbers and check their emails for new case inquiries as often as they reasonably can.
This raises the question of which days of the week trial attorneys are most and least likely to reach out to expert witnesses about new cases. SEAK recently analyzed the 5,000 most recent new case email inquiries through SEAK’s Expert Witness Directory. Here are the results:
Tuesday was the most frequent day of the week for new expert witness case inquiries from attorneys. Experts were almost 50% more likely to receive a new case inquiry on a Tuesday than a Friday. Experts were approximately 25% more likely to receive a new case inquiry on a Tuesday than on a Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
Trial lawyers are notorious for working long hours. This is accomplished by working nights and weekends. Part of what lawyers do on weekends is try to locate and hire expert witnesses. More than 5% of new case email inquiries were sent on Saturday or Sunday.
Conclusion – How to Land More Expert Witness Assignments: In order to be able to get back to inquiring attorneys right away, the most important day for an expert witness to be available is Tuesday. Monday, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are next in line in terms of importance. Fridays would be the best weekday to take off/be unavailable, or work your “day job”, as Fridays see significantly fewer case inquiries. Lawyers also reach out to experts on new matters on weekends, so checking your email for new case inquiries over the weekend can be helpful and give you a competitive edge.
About the Author
Kelly J. Wilbur, Esq., is a Trainer and Consultant for SEAK, Inc – The Expert Witness Training Company. She was an insurance defense and commercial litigator for five years prior to joining SEAK. Kelly received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts School of Law in 2015 and graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a B.A. in Political Science. While at St. Mary’s, Kelly was a member of the nationally ranked varsity sailing team and was a two-time All American. Kelly has experience preparing experts for deposition and trial testimony. Phone: 617-791-6802 Email: kelly@seak.com www.seak.com www.seakexperts.com