Engaging with Dermatology Expert, Dr. Howard Maibach

Our guest, Dr. Howard Maibach is a dermatologist specializing in allergic skin disorders and toxic exposure. He has served on the editorial boards of more than thirty scientific journals, and he is a member of 19 professional societies including the American Academy of Dermatology, the San Francisco Dermatological Society, and the International Commission on Occupational Health. Dr. Maibach has a Medical Degree from Tulane and is an extremely experienced and sought-after expert witness.In this episode . . . Attorneys choose expert witnesses to reinforce their case, but Dr. Maibach sees an additional opportunity to promote public policy at the same time. One of his engagements impacted a Supreme Court decision:In [my] case, I didn't have a deposition, but the case went through the testimony. It went through an appellate court, and it ended up in the Supreme Court. And I'm very happy I did that one because the result was the government scientists proved their point . . . so it is public policy and that was worth any of the trouble that was involved.Similarly, he chooses cases that have the largest impact. When deciding whether to accept an engagement, he considers:Is any of this likely to affect public policy? If it affects public policy and is likely to get to a higher court, I'm very much more interested . . . I only want to support the fair side of the story, I don't want to make up stories . . . [I]f I can figure that out in the first call, I'm delighted.Additional topics include getting worn down by opposing council, preparing using self-cross examination, and the importance of repetition.