What made me decide to become an expert witness was my desire to educate others.  In addition to my long standing entertainment law practice, I have been teaching for years.  I have taught courses and offered guest lectures at the associate, undergraduate and post-graduate levels at various colleges, universities, business and law schools over the years.  I have also organized, moderated and taught dozens of continuing legal education ("CLE") courses for lawyers, and I have contributed chapters to various textbooks in the field of sports and entertainment law.  

Since being an expert witness often involves educating others about a particular topic in which the expert is experienced, becoming an expert witness was a natural extension of what I was already doing.  Experts also help in the administration of justice, by ensuring that litigants, judges and juries receive an accurate and reasonable explanation of the rather sophisticated issues which might be alien to them, but which the expert sees in his or her practice on a daily basis, which obviously assists in rendering fair decisions.  On many occasions, merely reading my expert report has been enough to guide the litigation attorneys along the road to settlement of the case, which results in an amicable resolution without the expense, time or stress of a trial or arbitration.  

I strongly encourage litigants to draw from TASA's huge well of experts, which TASA arranges not only with pleasant efficiency, but also at a fair price.  I also suggest that anyone with a particular knowledge, no matter how arcane, offer his or her expert services to TASA, so that others can benefit from the expert's accumulated knowledge.  

Bernard also recently presented a webinar with TASA and fellow entertainment attorney, Sally Mattison, entitled Pitfalls for Contestants in Reality Competition Shows.