Insights
Insights & Litigation Resources
Practice notes for attorneys retaining expert witnesses on the West Coast — admissibility standards, disclosure procedure, cost, and the questions that decide whether an opinion survives a motion to exclude.
Jurisdiction practice notes
The most detailed material on this site. Each page covers the governing admissibility standard, disclosure procedure, deposition practice, and the courts served.
CA · Sargon standard
Expert Witness Practice in California
Admissibility, expert disclosure, deposition practice, and the state and federal courts served.
WA · Frye standard
Expert Witness Practice in Washington
Admissibility, expert disclosure, deposition practice, and the state and federal courts served.
OR · Brown/O'Key standard
Expert Witness Practice in Oregon
Admissibility, expert disclosure, deposition practice, and the state and federal courts served.
Answers and process
Expert Witness FAQ
Cost and fee structures, deposition fee rules, admissibility across all four governing standards, timing, and remote testimony logistics.
How to Retain an Expert Witness
The engagement process end to end — screening, conflict check, fee schedule, record review, report, deposition, and trial.
Case studies
TRO Defense: Petition Dismissed After Independent Medical Review
How an independent medical review dismantled the factual premise of a temporary restraining order petition.
Personal Injury: Causation Reconstructed From the Medical Record
Separating pre-existing degenerative change from acute traumatic injury in a disputed liability claim.
Expertise by discipline
Publishing cadence. New practice notes are added regularly, covering admissibility developments, expert cost benchmarks, and the procedural questions that come up most often in West Coast litigation. Nothing published here is legal advice.
Complimentary preliminary screening
Have a question these don't answer?
Preliminary screening is complimentary. Send the posture of your matter — jurisdiction, claims, and the schedule you are working under — and Dr. Alvaro Alban, MD, MBA will identify the expert discipline the issue points to, check availability and conflicts, and tell you candidly whether the materials look suitable for expert review before you retain anyone.
- Service area
- California, Washington, and Oregon — state and federal courts, in person and by remote deposition.
- Phone
- (347) 860-4763