Ethics for Experts

My field of expertise is rather broad and I have had decades of experience testifying in the trial courts of northeastern Illinois. I have always been amazed that for every opinion that I develop after studying a particular situation  someone will come along with another completely diametrically opposing opinion. Perhaps this is what lawsuits are all about. But within my realm of expertise, planning, zoning and real estate and eminent domain, the actual difference of opinions can, on certain occasions, be rather narrow.I understand that sometimes there may exist a gray area in which two qualified experts may disagree.  But over the past several years I have witnessed opinions that can best be characterized as extreme or under studied or maybe simply unethical. I can not judge these folks who somehow are allowed to testify as experts but I can say their their lack of proper professional conduct is extremely harmful to both sides of a legal dispute. But the attorney is the quarterback and he or she is working from the same sheet of music as their experts and  I would put them in the same boat in terms of credibility or lack thereof as their retained experts.These folks weave themselves a horrible web from which they can not recover. During this past year two trials come to mind where we  had several egregious positions from land use experts and appraisers. In both instances  the juries were perceptive enough to discount their testimony and weigh in on the side of the truth and the actual facts. We don't hear much about ethics these days but maybe its time for each profession  including the legal profession to revisit this subject before the government does it for us. "O what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive."


Stay tuned as we further blog on some fascinating cases in which Allen L. Kracower & Associates, Inc. served as experts in planning, zoning and land use; and as part of a professional 
team working with the best land use attorneys in the country.
Allen L. Kracower, President
Allen L. Kracower & Associates, Inc.