Important Issues To Be Aware of When Using an Expert Witness at Trial

Maurice A. Bellan is a partner in Baker McKenzie's North America Litigation and Government Enforcement Practice Group. He leads the Firm’s False Claims Act practice and advises clients on a broad range of fraud and anti-corruption matters.

He is a former criminal investigator and trial attorney at the US Department of Justice with over 20 years of complex investigative, civil, and criminal litigation experience. Maurice has also served on the boards of organizations such as National Senior Campuses and the Downtown Columbia Arts & Culture Commission.

Darren VanPuymbrouck is a Partner at Falkenberg Ives with an active nationwide trial practice. As first-chair, he has successfully tried dozens of high-profile complex commercial and tort-based cases, and argued appeals across the country. He also manages nation-wide, mass and class actions, setting trial strategy and litigation management and he advises clients on risk-avoidance and product and workplace safety issues.

Recently, he successfully completed a month-long jury trial as first-chair in Ocean County, New Jersey resulting in one of the largest verdicts in that county. In the fall of 2014, he successfully tried a lawsuit that resulted in a $22 Million verdict, among the top 100 verdicts nationally. Mr. VanPuymbrouck recently defeated a RICO class action claim in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and he has tried over 100 cases, taken thousands of expert and fact witness depositions, and successfully argued appeals in state and federal courts around the country.

Mr. VanPuymbrouck also advises, counsels, and conducts investigations for domestic and international clients on product safety, food safety and regulations, litigation exposure, and loss avoidance and in managing client's compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and in responding to CPSC investigations.

Mr. VanPuymbrouck’s practice focuses on product liability, toxic torts, food safety and regulations, insurance coverage disputes, contract negotiations, including UCC "battle of the forms" matters, consumer class actions, and RICO and professional liability disputes. He also has significant experience in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters through trial and appeal, including in commodity brokerage and trading and post-closing M & A disputes, Fair Housing Act Claims, real estate development disputes, and in many others areas.

Mr. VanPuymbrouck is the Chair of Falkenberg Ives’ Fire & Explosion Team and an internationally recognized leader in the investigation and litigation of catastrophic fire and explosion matters about which he is a frequent speaker. He also conducts emergency response exercises for clients in the petroleum, natural gas, electric generation and transmission, and transportation industries.

Mr. VanPuymbrouck received his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Government at the University of Washington where he was a Member of the Political Science Honors Program, Officer of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, and an intern at the Seattle Public Defenders Office. Mr. VanPuymbrouck was also a collegiate wrestler and academic All-American. He received his J.D. in 1986 from Loyola University of Chicago where he was an Editor of the Loyola Law Review and the recipient of the President’s Metal for outstanding leadership, scholarship, and service. Following law school, Mr. VanPuymbrouck was selected to clerk for Chief Judge William J. Bauer of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. VanPuymbrouck was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1986, he is a Member of the Norther District of Illinois Trial Bar, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and he has been admitted to practice in many other courts throughout the country.

Clyde Wilber has spent his career working for municipal clients with water and wastewater-engineering service’s needs. In addition to managing wastewater, water and sewer infrastructure projects, Mr. Wilber served as Chair of the Water Environment Federation Regulatory Committee on Wet Weather Water Quality Standards, Technical Advisor to the CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Partnership, Past Chairman of the ASCE Environmental Engineering Division Professional Coordination Committee, Past Chairman Chesapeake Water Pollution Control Association Government Affairs Committee, a member of the Water Environment Federation CSO Task Force and leader for Water Quality 2000's Developed Urban Area Runoff Solutions Challenge Group. He also served on the United States Environmental Protection Agency Federal Advisory Committee for wet weather flows and water quality standards. Mr. Wilber has assisted municipalities across the country with wastewater engineering, regulatory and permitting issues. Design services have ranged from small pump and haul operations up to hydraulic design for a 370 MGD Nutrient Removal upgrade and water reuse. Regulatory work has included acting as the Water Environment Federation (WEF) representative on the Federal Advisory Board to develop the national CSO policy. He also participated on the FACA on wet weather water quality standards and uses. He assisted in the formation a municipal stormwater group in Virginia. In the permitting area,the has assisted cities in developing and implementing permitting strategies to minimize exposure to enforcement and in protecting the environment in the area of wet weather, toxics, nutrients, bacteriological issues and others.