A Peek Behind the Scenes: Expert Witness Work in Employment Discrimination
The October 28, 2004 edition of The Recorder (available by subscription only) attributes the “birth” of the employment discrimination expert witness industry to William Bielby, who testified on behalf of plaintiffs in a case involving Lucky Stores in the early 1990s. As noted in the article, Bielby’s testimony enabled Brad Seligman to win a $1 million + settlement.
The article continues by saying that
Bielby has provided expert testimony in over 50 cases, helping plaintiffs win about $1 billion in settlements. Furthermore, the article notes that he spends an average of 100 hours on each case.
The article points out that Bielby uses the same strategy in each case, including an evaluation of the company’s selection practices, an examination of patterns in workforce representation, and an application of stereotyping theory.
Of course, the article goes on to state that not all parties are pleased with Bielby’s work. Employment discrimination defense attorneys, not surprisingly, are highly critical of such testimony. One defense attorney, who did not want his name revealed, asserts that expert witnesses are worse than attorneys.
There is no indication, however, that expert witness work in employment discrimination cases is going to disappear. Their impact on helping plaintiffs’ attorneys support their arguments is simply too critical.
