25 LAWYER MONTHLY EXPERT WITNESS AWARDS 2025 This is often tested if one of the parties has crossed paths with me during my career or, even worse if they are one of my business clients. This is where conflict of interest is crucial to be declared, and if parties decide to maintain me as an expert, then management of such conflict of interest must be in armdistance. In fact, unfortunately, I see this first-hand. In some cases, I am providing structural engineering expert witness on behalf of the plaintiff, and the defendant is one of ALJ’s clients. In some cases, I have earned the respect of providing an honest expert opinion that puts my business client in some sort of weak position but is true, and in other cases, I went through some business turbulences. I don’t mind that, as I believe I am doing the right thing for everyone involved. How do you balance technical precision with the need to communicate complex findings to a judge or jury with no engineering background? Engineering assessment and evidence do not necessarily need to be complex. Of course, if they are presented in narrative essay format, it would be a mission for the judge or the jury to comprehend. That’s why I tend to use more graphical and schematic illustrations to explain engineering facts, principles, and chronological events in my structural engineering expert witness reports. I also maintain the logical flow of information in my expert opinion presentation to keep the audience, which is the judge and jury, engaged and informative. Can you share an example of when a case hinged on a critical piece of forensic evidence you uncovered? I was preparing a structural engineering expert report on an engineering negligence claim where the subject building was under construction, and L08 composite beams started showing yielding signs of the external box steel section when the construction reached L24, and the building still had 14 floors to go. The construction halted for over three months to investigate the cause of the premature structure failure of the composite beams. The matter advanced when the developer sued the builder and their engineer [design and construction contract] for delays and liquidation damages. The original engineer, who I was presenting, has been brought to the court proceeding. During the structural design and construction assessment, I found that the for-construction drawings by the builder’s engineer reduced the floor beam sizes from 1200X1400mm plus
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