My favorite work has been as an expert witness on court cases involving software. I love working with lawyers, because they are very smart, highly motivated, learn fast, but don’t know much about software technology.
Never do I feel more needed.
I’ve done a patent infringement case (went to jury and we won), a trade secrets case (opponent caved two days before trial), the Microsoft Antitrust Remedies trial (that was surreal), and a number of small cases involving software quality and testing issues.
On one case, I had to write a two reports totalling more than 300 pages, with hundreds of footnotes, that only three or four people ever read. Here is the portion of one of my reports that is in the public record.
The thing about expert witness work is that it requires relentless critical thinking. Not just thinking critically about the topic, but about one’s own work. This is the most comfortable form of life for me. Hey, companies, hire me for this!
This report took a bit more than a thousand hours to write. Kids: don’t sue anyone if you don’t have millions of dollars.
So good to hear from you again James. You have long been an inspiration to me, your teachings set me on my path as a tester. I gained a lot from the session you held in Copenhagen back in 2015.
Right now I’m in a legal dispute with a neighbour, and my critical thinking experience is proving very useful. So obviously this blog post resonated.
[James’ Reply: Thanks, man. Good luck with your dispute.]
Getting the chance to be an expert witness would help me no longer worry about imposter syndrome.