Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: is it ethical in representing a client's expert with litigation pending

Yes, it is possible. At trial on the clients matter, the expert could be shown to have bias since his attorney is the client's attorney.

Re: is it ethical in representing a client's expert with litigation pending

Take a look at this case (Hernandez v. Paicius):

http://www.ethicsandlawyering.com/Issues/files/Hernandez.pdf

Re: is it ethical in representing a client's expert with litigation pending

During an expert deposition, the attorneys have very broad discretion in questioning to expert to explore issues of bias and prejudice. I will often ask experts how often they've worked with the attorney that hired them for this case. I ask about their background, how much work they do for plaintiff vs. defendant. You can even ask them about whether or not they ever do any "real" work in the field.

Representing both the expert and the client can cause problems. It is a fact that opposing counsel will try to exploit. The goal is to protray the expert as a "hired gun" instead of an independent expert.