One of the first tasks for any attorney on a valuation case—after checking which Judge will hear the case—is to do a quick “background” check on the opposing side’s appraiser, researching where that expert has testified, and how that expert fared in court. That search can now be done from an attorney’s desktop, thanks to a recent licensing agreement that will provide LexisNexis subscribers access to The Daubert Tracker™ database, touted “as the country’s largest repository of court decisions and documents relating to the admissibility of scientific evidence and expert witness testimony.” (Check out www.dauberttracker.com for more information.)

'Insights' on meeting the Daubert challenge. And appraisers may want to check out the upcoming fall issue of Insights magazine (Willamette Associates), which will feature an article by James Rabe and Anna Kamenova on the current, legal criteria for qualifying as an expert witness—and the challenges one is sure to meet from Daubert-savvy attorneys. For more information about this article or the Insights publication, contact the author at jrabe@willamette.com.

And as subscribers to BVR’s Deluxe BVU already know, they can search for any valuation expert in any case (using the “department search” function of the database), and read the case abstract right on their computers. To subscribe, click here.