"The ultimate value of any expert witness testimony depends solely on what weight the jury gives to the expert’s testimony."

Key capabilities of Bucklin as a testifying expert witness

1. Bucklin  expresses his expert opinion, and explains the basis of it, in words that communicate to the finder of fact.

Bucklin has over 40 years of effective presentation of evidence in court. This is evidenced by his election as a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (The Academy of Trial Lawyers attempts to identify and admit to membership the top 500 trial lawyers in the United States); by his membership in the Million Dollar Round Table; and by the multiple insurers who recommended him for Best's Recommended Insurance Attorneys.

2. Bucklin has transactional and trial experience from many states.  

Bucklin's legal practice for 40 years has been balanced between commercial and personal work, and between office practice and litigation, and between plaintiff and defense work. His experience is both extensive in terms of states where he has been involved (34), and also varied in terms of the litigation or transactions. See the states in which Bucklin now serves.

3. Bucklin simplifies your life as trial counsel. Read why.  

4. Bucklin has solid credentials.

In addition to looking at the biography of Bucklin, we suggest you look at the fact sheets regarding the National Association of Legal Fee Analysis.  Bucklin belongs to the NALFA  Attorney Fee Practice Group.

5. Bucklin's methodology has the capability to pass the judge's gatekeeper or Daubert Tests. 

No longer can experts be selected solely on their credentials and ability to communicate.  Attorneys must select an expert who is familiar with the new expert opinion evidence tests, and willing and able to support his/her analytical approaches in the words that the court is looking for.  In Kumho, for example, the court had no doubt about the expert's qualifications, but rejected the testimony because of lack of explanation of a proper analytical approach. An expert is no use in court if he/she cannot pass the gatekeeper tests of the judge. Read Bucklin's article --> Daubert Gatekeeping Tests.

Because expert evidence is almost always crucial to the case, counsel should start thinking of admissibility from the beginning of the litigation.  If counsel is using an expert, counsel should select an expert who  expresses his opinion and the basis of it in words properly. Finding a "qualified expert" is no longer enough. Gone are the days when, after an expert is found to be qualified (routine under Rule 702's standards), the testimony would invariably get to the jury. Now trial  lawyers must look beyond the expert’s credentials.  So choose an expert who knows how to state his/her method properly and clearly.

6. Bucklin takes care in making the evaluation.

It's time consuming to do the job that true experts do.  Experts like Bucklin, and others in the national Attorney Fee Practice Group, carefully reconstructs what was done in the case by the attorneys, considers  what were the  reasonable tasks to be done by the attorney whose fee is in issue, and the reasonable amount of time for those tasks; comparing them with the tasks and time the billing attorney actually undertook and claims in the matter.

7. Services that can be rendered by Bucklin include consultation, advice, opinions, reports, and testimony on the following subjects.

Summary: available to be retained by law firms to support or challenge a fee request or to serve as court-appointed Special Master on large or complex fee dispute cases.

Legal fee analysis; Legal fee dispute consultant; Litigation cost control advice; Attorney fees and legal billing matters;  Analysis of attorney fees in fee shifting litigation;  Provide expert opinion on the reasonableness of attorney fees; Counsel attorneys and in-house counsel on litigation costs and budgets; Assess attorney fees in class action settlements; Evaluate legal fees in large complex litigation; Affidavits and reports regarding attorney fee petitions and requests; train law firms and attorneys on proper billing practices; mediate high-stakes legal fee disputes.

8. Bucklin has the additional capability of often being able to give opinions on several aspects of the substance of the underlying case.   Read more aspects that apply specially to legal malpractice claims.