Practice Development for Expert Witnesses
Beryl Vaughan, Consultant
Beryl Vaughan, Experience
Practice Development Consultant for Physician, Psychologist, and Non-Medical Expert Witnesses.
Experience | Bona Fides
2007-Present
Practice development, business, and marketing consultant to Forensic Evaluators and Expert Witnesses in medical, psychologist and non-medical specialists.
Experience & Foundation
I draw on nearly 2 decades working closely with expert witnesses, including medical and non-medical experts, Forensic Psychiatrists, Forensic Psychologists, and medical specialists in all fields, and other unique fields.
My clients seek to expand or develop an expert witness/forensic practice or shift to a different daily case experience or a different kind of case than in the past.
This experience is preceded by 20 years in law as a litigation and case manager (non-lawyer) at highly regarded boutique and white shoe law firms listed below.
Educator
I am honored to serve as an invited speaker about practice development, best practices and ethics Annual Presentations to Forensic Psychiatry Fellows at UCSF, UCDavis, Stanford, UCLA and most recently, OHSU. I was co-moderator of the 2023 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Annual Conference, workshop: “Navigating the Digital World: Solutions to Develop Your Practice.” My CV reflects presentations and publications.
My experience has proven applicable to a variety of expert witness specialists.
Professional History
Medical-Legal Practice and Marketing Manager. Stephen M. Raffle, M.D. & Assoc. (2007- 2017.)
A forensic practice which I invigorated with a marketing and practice-management model for this 47- year veteran Forensic Psychiatrist. I audited hundreds of forensic reports and depositions for content that is legally defensible, ethical, and thorough. Turned doctor-issued engaging articles into useful website content with stellar results.
Legal Background
Over 20 years at the most respected law firms in Northern California, as a non-attorney Case Manager and Lead Paralegal: Sideman & Bancroft; Arnold & Porter / San Francisco Powerhouse Howard, Rice; Dudnick, Detwiler, Rivin & Stikker, LLP and Greene, Radovsky/Fox Rothschild, and Shartsis, Friese. Focused experience in Elder Law, Probate, Estates and Trusts, Issues of Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence, Personal Injury, Tax, and Civil Litigation. San Francisco Bay Area, CA.(Collectively 1987-2007.)
Presentations, Publications, Podcasts and Webinars
“Beryl Vaughan on Mastering the Expert Witness Practice. “On the Stand with Ashish Arun.”
Interview with Ashish Arun, ExLitem. Short release 6/11/25, full interview special release 6/13/25
“Navigating the Digital World: Solutions to Develop Your Practice,” Co-Moderator, Workshop Leader, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Annual Conference. 10/2023. Chicago, IL
“Practice Development, Best Practices, Ethical, Marketing and Practical considerations.” Invited Speaker, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF,) Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. Jan. 2020, Jan. 2021, Jan. 2022, May 2023, April 2024 and May 2025.
“Practice Development.” Invited Speaker, Oregon Health and Sciences University School of Medicine, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. May 2025.
“Practice Development and Best-Practices in Medical-Legal / Forensic Psychiatry Practice,” Invited Speaker, University of California Davis (UCD,) Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. June 2021, June 2022, May 2023, June 2024, June 2025.
“Marketing Best-Practices and Business Concepts for Forensic Psychiatrists,” Invited Speaker, Stanford, Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. June 2023, June 2024 and May 2025.
“Marketing Best-Practices and Business Concepts for Forensic Psychiatrists,” Invited Speaker, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. April 2021 and May 2025.
“3 Things to Do Now to Promote Your Practice.” A presentation in collaboration with High Rock Experts, live public webinar. Dec. 20, 2024.
“Get Discovered by Lawyers for Medical Expert Witness Work,” Interviewed on podcast Physician’s Guide to Doctoring, hosted by Bradley Block, M.D. December 2022
“Marketing and Networking,” The Expert Resource (an Educational Program of Webinars for Physicians). Webinar presentation December 2020.
“How Expert Witness Retention Contracts Work & Why You Need One,” ExpertPages.com. 2019 and 2020.
“Timekeeping Strategies That Will Improve Your Bottom Line.” ExpertPages.com 2019 and 2020.
“Hiring a Forensic Physician: What Will It Cost? HGExperts.com, Articles, 2022
Digital and Software Expertise
Over 25 years’ experience in the visual tools of the marketing trade:
Visual, Graphics, Video: Graphics, Photography and Visual Design software. Photoshop power user. Adobe Illustrator and 3D Software. Adobe Acrobat Suite (a great tool for records management,) proficiency with video/audio editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro, Camtasia.) Visual communication engages attorneys in a field that is information and text-heavy. It must be developed thoughtfully, with copyrighted and licensed imagery. I develop visuals that reflect meaning in context, drawing the lawyer’s eye to the doctor’s.
Divi/WordPress software, interface for front-end website development.
Education
BA Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Magna Cum Laude, San Francisco State University (1982)
BA Women’s Studies, Magna Cum Laude, San Francisco State University (1982)
Secondary Education Teaching Credential, San Francisco State University (1987)
A liberal arts education is a thing of beauty. Marketing is built on the study of human behavior grounded in critical thinking and logic. I’ll never dismiss a solid liberal arts BA. I hold 2 Degrees in the study of how people think, act, and why.
Services Summary
- Identifying the right attorney population for you. Added value: filtering for geography, reach, budget, investment of time.
- Building an online footprint tapping the most successful strategic tools. Platforms include top-performing websites, social media when appropriate, best ROI budget for expert witness directories, joining the most relevant referral and “fee mark-up” services.
- Guiding doctors in ethical and best-practices in issuing medical-legal opinions. Quality assessment of reports and business practices.
- Directed real-world marketing. Teaching and helping you with my most powerful techniques to garner attention. Ask me about leveraging snail mail and email.
- Training in the use of LinkedIn and Quickbooks, develping a caseflow, how to interact with your tax and legal counsel, website developers, copyeditors and more.
Websites That Generate Cases
- Developing doctor-specific writing prompts for focused articles suited to a given doctor and the types of cases that will come their way.
- Copyediting as needed and collaboration with copyeditors.
- Developing layout and design to showcase your expertise. Click for a partial website portfolio.
- Auditing an existing website.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)
- Data-based research and analysis of a doctor’s existing online presence, to form decisions to improve results.
Techniques That Improve Profit and Reputation
- Teaching doctors about ethical considerations in a marketing strategy for defensibility on the stand.
- Quality control in reports and business practices (e.g., Rule 26, court challenges, discovery.)
- Retainer and retention best practices, billing methods and attorney collections protocols.
- Case management tools and training: such as software for document management (e.g., Acrobat Pro,) time management (record-keeping,) and software that supports efficiency and profitability.
- Ethics and Best Practices Considerations in Marketing. Your practice and marketing can communicate integrity and transparency through bios, CV, authorship and proactive response to the due diligence research of counsel.
- Navigating Referral Directories and Third Party Services. Companion article 2025 Guide to Directories and Referral Services.
- Assessment, navigation and management of the social media platform LinkedIn. Other social media platforms do not apply to expert witness work.
- Long-Term Professional Planning. Growing a forensic practice and career year after year.
Who Are My Clients?
My clients include physicians in multiple specialties with associated focus in Forensic Psychiatry and Forensic Psychology. Experts in non-medical fields are also clients in smaller number.
Medical specialties of sample clients:
- Forensic: Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatry, Brain Injury Medicine, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- Emergency Medicine
- Cardiology
- Physiatry and PM&R, Rehabilitation & Injury Recovery
- Pain Medicine
- Medical Educators, thought leaders, hospital policymakers
- Engineering and non-medical specialists
Clients and/or their cases have been based in, most recently: Pennsylvania, Idaho, Texas (incl. Austin, Houston and San Antonio), California, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Georgia, Kentucky, Oregon, Alaska, New Mexico, Louisiana, Washington State, Idaho, Oklahoma, Montana, Colorado, Ohio, Delaware, Hawaii, Nevada, South Carolina, US Virgin Islands, Florida, and more.
Initially, before expanding my client base, I worked primarily with Board-Certified Forensic Psychiatrists and Forensic Psychologists. Why? Because of the legal and expert witness focus of their training.
Such training has lessons for physicians in any practice.
I find marketing principles are consistently applicable to physicians in other fields and have applied that with excellent results.
Who Are You?
You are among a minority of doctors interested and qualified to assist a trier of fact about what you know.
If you are knowledgeable and qualified, you can serve as an expert witness. For example:
You practice medicine in any specialty.
You practice primarily in your general field, and are Board-Certified to do so.
You have subspecialty training, interests and knowledge that assist judge, jury and attorney.
You are a Board-Certified Psychiatrist if that is your field.
You are a Psychologist, licensed to practice psychology in at least one state, and also qualified to serve as an expert witness.
Results
Clients reported developing a stellar reputation, and growth in billable forensic hours and cases, maintained and increasing year after year. Their practice survives in the face of a fluctuating client base.
The first year Ms. Vaughan set a marketing plan, my forensic income quadrupled. My professional reputation has grown. We have worked together for 6 years and I now have 2 associate physicians. My practice income this year is already 8x greater than our first year working together and grew year to year. I expect my practice will continue to thrive as a result of Ms. Vaughan’s expertise. I recommend her highly.
Personal Contact Builds What Comes Next.
Digital tools are only one feature of building a practice.
Real Life Techniques Build Personal Relationships that Drive Repeat Business – Cases
Relationships = Cases
Maximizing and Navigating the Digital World
Internet = Lifeblood
Master your online footprint. It is unique for a forensic Expert Witness and distinct from a solely-clinical practitioner.
80% of Attorneys tell my clients first hand their call originated from the internet.
Develop and deliver your reputation on the “largest” screen in the world–a computer monitor or phone on your own terms.
I’ll help you navigate this world and maximize its benefits to grow your practice.
Effective Environments
Do you know the most effective and client-rich environments?
I guide my clients in the thoughtful use of internet databases, improving results from data scraping, when to use Expert Witness Directories, free online services, paid online services, “mark-up” referrers, conservative use of Social Media, and webinar Bar programs and explanatory videos. A website can be a powerful tool you control and own, introducing you to attorneys 24/7.
Professionally Appropriate Website Design
Attorneys can’t find you if they…can’t find you. A website is one tool to control what attorneys learn about you which you can defend on the stand.
Complementary article: You Need a Website: Here’s Why
New work, the old-fashioned way
Not everything happens online. In fact, the simplest personal gestures can generate cases and reinvigorate dormant relationships.
I’ve designed strategies so attorneys remember your name and have a respectful appreciation for your skill.
This has downstream benefits when you are referred to other attorneys.
The strongest connection is in the real world and personal.
Practice Methods That Attorneys Appreciate
Developing goodwill is promoted by quality in services delivered professionally. This is how a medical expert witness gets more cases.
I teach you how this is accomplished in the trenches on a day-to-day basis following best business practices exclusive to med-legal work.
Teaching You How to Teach Attorneys What They Want to Know
Writing and speaking are excellent forms of public education. In person or online, attorneys enjoy learning what you have to say, once I identify the intersection of law with your expertise. I pinpoint
- In-person outreach you can make to your local legal community.
- Curating writing topics that resonate with attorneys.
- Focused and strategic content for a legal reader online, and the places where that content will get attention.
For example, one client is an expert in non-traditional families; I identified a niche for attorneys to understand atypical loss of consortium. Another is Board-Certified in 3 medical specialties. We showcased his expertise with fascinating case studies where overlapping medical expertise was necessary.
My Commitment to the Field
I am committed to the practice of medical-legal specialization and law, at the highest level of ethical and professional practice.
- American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Forensic Psychiatry research branch, AIER, Donor.
- San Francisco Bar Association, former member as a professional adjunct, non-lawyer.
- American Bar Association, former member as a professional adjunct, non-lawyer.
