by Captain Kirk Greiner
A number of articles have been written on what should be included in a curriculum vitae (CV). As one who sees a large number of CV's, I would like to share my own opinion with you.
A CV is not a resume. The common advice for a resume is to keep it short -- one or two pages. A CV is different. You want to tell the reader everything that you think qualifies you for a particular assignment. The definition of curriculum vitae is ôa resume of a persons career.ö This means it may be long, in many cases up to ten pages. In order that the reader be able to find information quickly, it should be organized into sections as discussed below in more detail.
But first, let's address how many CV's an expert should have. If you are retained as an expert witness, your CV will be required. With the advent of the computer, extraneous material that is not related to a particular case may be omitted. Thus, several CV's could be in order depending on the amount and different types of experience you have. For instance, all of the information placed on a CV for a personal injury case would not be of interest when reconstructing a collision. Thus you may want to emphasis the disciplines you anticipate are being sought, if you possess them. Having said that, if the purpose of your CV is to attract business and not for a specific case, you should also have a CV that is "general" in nature and sets forth all of your disciplines. The format would be the same in either case.
A CV should be on letterhead stationary. This provides your company name (if you have one), address and phone numbers. Centered at the top, put CURRICULUM VITAE. Beneath that, put your name and title. The first untitled paragraph is a collection of disciplines which you possess that are relevant to the case. Keep it short two lines at most and make it bold type.
The next section is titled flush with the left margin "SUMMARY." Use bold characters for the section titles so they stand out. In it, place a very brief summary of your experience. This allows the reader to determine whether there might be a fit. Attorneys keep a large number of CV's and thus in reviewing them for a particular case, it makes it easy for them to focus in on the correct people.
The third section is titled, "RECENT EXPERIENCE" and is a more detailed account of recent positions and experience in chronological order with the most recent first.
The fourth section, "EDUCATION" is a detailed listing of your education, listing the schools and special courses which you have attended. Again, put in the dates and list the most recent first.
The fifth section is "MEMBERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS." This is merely a listing of those you currently belong to. If you hold, or have held an office in one of these organizations or associations, list it and the date. Remove the names of organizations to which you no longer belong.
The sixth section is, "PUBLICATIONS AUTHORED." This includes articles and books published, papers presented or courses taught. Again, start with the date, most recent first, the name of the article and in what it was published or where it was presented.
The seventh section is a listing of positions held. It may be redundant, but if you haven't put all your experience in the third section, use this section. Since it includes older experience, there is no need to put any detail in. If you have not moved jobs more than a few times, this section can be omitted. Lastly, put in a section, "CONSULTING AND EXPERT TESTIMONY EXPERIENCE." Many attorneys want to know if you have been qualified in court before. List all the states in which you have been found qualified and testified in a Federal Court. List the types of cases, the number of times you have testified in deposition and in trial in the last four years, and the ratio of plaintiff to defendant cases. Attached to the CV or as part of this section, you can list all of the cases in which you have testified or been deposed during the last four years or, if you wish, longer. This information is required under the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure but has not been implemented in all Districts.
What not to list. The facts that you are married, have four children, like sports and ski are not relevant. While they may be of interest on a resume, they don't belong in a CV.
These thoughts are merely mine. They fit my background. I have held a number of positions during my career in the Coast Guard as it is routine to transfer officers every three years. Start with this outline and develop your own. Keep it current. If you say you are the president of an Association on your resume, make sure you change it to "past" president when you pass that title on. The credibility of an expert can be severely damaged if he claims things which are no longer true on his CV. I know of one expert who claimed to have a naval architectural education, and when it was attacked in court, his credibility was destroyed.
Lastly, if you have a skeleton in your closet, don't put it on your CV but do tell an attorney who is considering hiring you about it before you are retained if it will in any way affect your credibility. We once referred an expert to an attorney who wanted someone with experience as master navigating in a certain Japanese port. The case involved a grounding, and the presence of numerous fishing vessels and their behavior was an issue. What the referred expert failed to tell us, or the attorney who hired him, was that he had grounded a ship while entering that same harbor. He volunteered -- yes , volunteered -- that information during his deposition for the first time (I assume that made him well qualified). This should have been disclosed before he was retained.
Your CV is often the first exposure an attorney has to you. Make it neat, professional, easy to read and current. MAC would also appreciate a current copy since often we are the ones who forward it onto the client where a referral takes place. CV's for online use on the World Wide Net by MAC will have some special rules and we will be in contact with our Associates in this regard.
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