Expert Reports
in Litigators on Experts, American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, October 2010
by John L. Tate
This Chapter is excerpted from Litigators on Experts
"Expert Reports"
I. Introduction
If a party has retained or employed an individual who is expected to testify as an expert witness pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 mandates that a pretrial disclosure be made in the form of a written report signed and prepared by the witness. The requirements of Rule 26(a) are mandatory and self-executing. This chapter provides an overview of Rule 26(a), explains the rule’s background of this rule, summarizes the penalties for failing to disclose an expert report, discusses which witnesses are required to produce a report, details the report’s content, and outlines the obligation to supplement.