Expert witnesses can be intimidating. They speak in jargon. They have all those fancy degrees. And, in some cases, they’ve spent more time before judges and juries than the lawyers examining them.

But in a presentation sponsored by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy last week, Seattle litigator Robert Wayne said lawyers can “demystify” expert witnesses by focusing on their “competency, likability and communication skills.” Here are the Lit Daily’s takeaways from what Wayne offered up.

With Experts, Personality Counts