How much should I charge to be an expert GIS witness?

October 19, 2009 3:05 PM

I'm going to be an expert witness in a hearing regarding GIS data. What hourly rate should I charge?

The hearing is in northern New Jersey. A friend who suggested me to the attorney was getting $75/hour to look over maps and data (he wanted nothing to do with the hearing and thought my credentials would look better). It seems to me that showing up and potentially testifying at a hearing should warrant more money. However, I have no idea what other professionals in this or related areas might charge. I don't want to rip myself off, but I don't want to way overshoot either.

posted by mollweide to work & money (12 comments total)

I am an engineering tech, and have done more GIS work in the past - IMO they are comparable. The consulting company I work for bills me out at about $130/hour, if that helps. I don't make that much myself, of course.
posted by tamaraster at 3:06 PM on October 19

Oh, and when I was a contractor for another company doing mostly GIS-type work, I made $300/day, which is much less than $75/hour, but that was a regular job and not expert witness stuff.
posted by tamaraster at 3:07 PM on October 19

I knew a biology professor who testified at a trial once. I believe she charged hundreds of dollars an hour to do so (it might have been $300 an hour, but then again she was one of the world's foremost experts on a particular subject). She said that it was a bit more contentious than just consulting—the opposing attorney attacked her work and her credentials, her lab notebooks became subject to discovery, and it was only worth it to subject herself to that for a lot of money. I'm not sure how contentious this hearing will be, since there are little details, I wouldn't be shy about charging much more than what your ordinary consulting rate would be, especially if there is likely to be much of an adversarial interaction.
posted by grouse at 3:11 PM on October 19

I'm not a lawyer, but in a former career I heard a lot of price tags for expert witnesses; here's my recollection:

Doctor or professor: $250-$350/hour
Total badass in field: $300-500/hour
Head nurse or other professional with distinctions: $200-250/hour

Few people charged under $200/hour, though I believe some did. I imagine it is a supply and demand issue like anything else. However ... (I'm still not a lawyer ...) the attorney passes the cost along to the client and when you get cross examined, they'll probably ask how much you are getting paid (more always sounded more impressive/better to me).

Witnesses often had a price for showing up somewhere which reflected the reality that court times can get delayed so it is going to spoil your whole day.
posted by samsm at 3:41 PM on October 19

I'm an urban planner/land use economist and charge my usual rate ($150/hr) for preparation then double that for depositions and in-court testimony. My colleague, a total badass in the field (as samsm put it), does the same but at $225/450.
posted by carmicha at 4:02 PM on October 19 [1 favorite]

I charge $200/hour for computer forensics testimony and have been told twice that I don't charge enough.
posted by Lame_username at 4:21 PM on October 19

I'm hardly a badass and I charge $450/550 per hour for engineering stuff.
posted by Wet Spot at 6:01 PM on October 19

Expert witness services, including testimony or depositions have been 50-100% higher than standard billable rates at various places I have worked. It is exacting, demanding work, puts your reputation on the line in a much more direct way and ultimately is extremely valuable to the client who is hiring you.
posted by meinvt at 7:52 PM on October 19 [1 favorite]

Expert rates vary a lot based on the field of expertise, the expert's familiarity with litigation, and the type of litigation (personal, small commercial, big commercial, etc). Because of that, I think your best bet will be to ask around with people in your professional network.

That said, in complex commercial patent litigation, the chemistry experts I've encountered generally charge:

$250/hr at the low end: They aren't very familiar with litigation and have never testified before. Sometimes they apologize for their extremely high rate, without realizing they're at the very lowest end of the pay scale. I have even heard of litigators who ask these folks to increase their rate to lend credibility.

$350-500/hr for the majority: Almost always PhDs; usually professors with some litigation experience.

$750-1500/hr for the "badass" experts: A combination of amazing credentials, extreme intelligence, and/or so much litigation experience they could practically be patent lawyers themselves.

Hope that helps.
posted by pitseleh at 9:07 PM on October 19 [1 favorite]

Many doctors (ortho, neruo, etc.) in general car accident personal injury cases in metro NY charge per appearance, because they know that they need to close their office for a day and sometimes two. They charge somewhere in the neighborhood of $3k or $4k for a day, I believe.
posted by Brian Puccio at 6:38 AM on October 20

Thanks, everyone, I appreciate the advice. Now I can go in not feeling like a complete noob.
posted by mollweide at 12:09 PM on October 20

I can't speak to court appearances, but the GIS consultants I work with bill us at their "public interest" rates of $65-$85/hr.
posted by salvia at 7:28 PM on October 20