Forensic Engineering Technical Group
Of the Los Angeles Section
American Society of Civil Engineers
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Forensic Engineering Technical Group Of the Los Angeles Section
American Society of Civil Engineers |
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April Meeting Mr. Wesley Davis, Esq. of Wesley L. Davis, APC gave a presentation on knowing your case and your adversary's case for trial.
Woody Higdon of Geo-Tech Imagery gave a presentation on aerial photography and GIS. He talked about picture resolution and the importance of proper scanning and printing devices to get the most out of aerial photos. He also demonstrated the use of GIS software in conjunction with aerial photos to view and analyze landslides. About 35 people attended the meeting.
Shawn Cowles of Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP shared his views and experience as an attorney with a background in bricks and mortar cases in his presentation titled "Expert Witnesses, Using, Deposing, Defending...Trial!" (download slides here). He shared some interesting insight into what to look out for during an expert deposition, in particular how to reflect on the objections made by your client's attorney during your deposition. He also emphasized the importance of communication (preferably verbal) and preparation at every stage of the case. As usual, it was an interactive talk with a lot of audience participation.
June Meeting Prof. Walsh gave a presentation on assessing the movements of residential floor slabs at our June meeting. The meeting was well-attended and involved a lot of discussion about this topic, as floor level surveys are a tool that are often used in the forensic field. He spoke about research he and others have done to estimate how much movement occurred versus how “flat” a slab is built. He has developed a new methodology to assess how much movement has occurred using a population of floor slabs. He also discussed how many survey points are needed to adequately capture the maximum elevation difference of a floor slab. We look forward to seeing his journal article that will describe his new methodology in detail. March Meeting Mary Beth Coburn of Best, Best & Krieger gave a presentation and participated in a lively discussion regarding project close-out from a legal perspective. She also has a engineering background and was able to look at this issue from both sides. She added quite a bit of insight as to how this process has changed in the current economy. She addressed everything from beginning to end, including the bid process to the punchlist. She provided helpful information to those in the audience regarding contracts in the construction realm. December Meeting About 25 people attended the meeting of the Forensic Technical Group on December 9, 2008. Three speakers presented a coordinated discussion of technical and legal aspects of claims. Ryan Harley and Joshua Cohen, attorneys with Collins, Collins, Muir & Stewart, presented several case history examples of claims made against design professionals. Their perspective on the resolution of these claims, using contract documents and evaluations of the relationships between several parties in the construction project, provided valuable information that could be used to reduce claims. Mark Savel, an architect who has provided expert services on many projects, provided technical background and summaries of several case histories involving design professionals. He also presented several areas of disputes that typically arise in construction projects.
Michael K. Wolder, Esq., Partner, Pistone & Wolder, LLP
Michael's presentation on the common mistakes made by experts at deposition and trial was a broad look at pointers to experts from the point of view of an attorney with a technical background. Michael was trained as a mechanical engineer prior to entering the legal profession. His presentation includes "practice pointers," areas of concern and common blunders that those interested in entering the practice of expert witnessing and those with experience as an expert witness will find useful to review.
May Meeting David W. Sykora (CV), Ph.D., P.E., G.E., Exponent, Failure Analysis Associates
Dave gave a presentation on convincing non-triers of fact, e.g. other experts, attorneys or various responsible parties, of the basis and validity of opinions reached during the course of a project. Three case histories were presented that illustrated additional work, such as full-scale load tests, needed to convince an owner, designer or contractor of one’s engineering judgment.
February Meeting Charles L. Harris (CV), Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith LLP
Charlie's presentation on the "lifesaver" role of an expert witness was well attended. He described the function of an expert witness at various stages of a case, from the perspective of a defense attorney.
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January Meeting
September Meeting
September Meeting
