Directory
Finding a witness who will hold up
Technical competence is the entry requirement. What distinguishes a useful condemnation expert is experience of having their reasoning taken apart in public, and of surviving it.
Where to look
Routes to qualified experts
Condemnation counsel
Lawyers who practise in this field maintain working relationships with experts and know who performs under cross examination. The most reliable route by some distance.
Professional bodies
The Appraisal Institute for appraisers, state engineering boards, AICP for planners, ITE for traffic. Establishes credentials rather than suitability.
Right of way associations
The International Right of Way Association and similar bodies gather practitioners who work on acquisition projects specifically.
Prior testimony records
Transcripts and reported decisions show who has testified in similar matters and how it went.
Other experts
Appraisers generally know the engineers and planners who work well with them, and that working relationship has value of its own.
Expert referral services
Available, and they vary widely. Verify independently rather than relying on the listing.
Before engaging
Questions worth asking
- How many condemnation matters have you worked on in the last three years, and in this state?
- How many times have you testified, and how recently?
- Have you worked for condemning agencies, and are you working for this one now?
- Have you ever been excluded or had an opinion limited, and in what circumstances?
- What would you need from us to form an opinion on this question?
- What is your fee structure, and what is priced separately?
- What is your availability through the likely trial window?
- What would change your opinion?
The last question is the useful one. An expert who can answer it is describing an analysis. An expert who cannot is describing a position.
Directory
A listing is being built
This site is developing a directory of experts who practise in condemnation matters, organised by discipline and by state. It is not yet published. In the meantime the routes above reach the same population, and counsel remains the best of them.
Experts who would like to be included when the directory opens can write to editorial@eminentdomainexpertwitness.com. Inclusion will be free, will require evidence of credentials and condemnation experience, and will not be sold.
Start with an assessment, not a roster
Which experts a case needs follows from what is actually in dispute. An early reading of the agency valuation usually answers both questions at once.