In this episode…

Take physical presence into consideration when billing, according to Ms. Sheila Lowe. She offers a flat rate for remote testimony, and a separate hourly rate for in-person appearances. Additionally, a non-refundable retainer prevents attorneys from using her name to draw settlements without paying.

Check out the entire episode for our discussion on repeating mistakes, the benefits of settlements, and telepresence considerations.

Note:  Transcript has been lightly edited for clarity

Host:  Noah Bolmer, Round Table Group

Guest: Ms. Sheila Lowe, Owner of Sheila Lowe and Associates

Noah Bolmer: Welcome to Engaging Experts. I’m your host, Noah Bolmer, and I’m excited to welcome Miss Sheila Lowe to the show. Miss Lowe owns Sheila Lowe and Associates, a handwriting authentication and behavioral profiling firm. She’s a published author of handwriting analysis books as well as three mystery novels. Miss Lowe holds a master’s in psychology from California Coast University. Miss Lowe, thank you for joining me today.

Sheila Lowe: Thank you, Noah. I’m happy to be here.

Noah Bolmer: You’ve been a handwriting examiner since 1967. Tell me a little about your work.

Sheila Lowe: That’s when I started studying. I’m old enough. Don’t make me older.

Noah Bolmer: Yes, I’m looking at a person who clearly looks like she’s in her thirties, so I wasn’t sure how that could possibly be the case.

Sheila Lowe: Very funny. I was seventeen when I started studying handwriting in 1967-

Noah Bolmer: No kidding.

Sheila Lowe: -so you can figure that out.

Noah Bolmer: Why handwriting examining, and how did that become expert witness work?

Sheila Lowe: When I was in high school, my boyfriend, at the time, his mother had read a book about handwriting analysis and personality. She analyzed my handwriting and I was completely bowled over by the things she told me about my personality. I started studying that and got all the books I could find on it. I did that for about 10 years until I realized that I could take courses. I did and then it became an avocation. In the meantime, I had got married to that boyfriend, had three children, and got divorced. In the mid-80s I was working at a job, got fired, and decided that was a great time to start a business. I had three little kids and debt. In the meantime, in 1985, I was doing personality profiling with handwriting analysis. I got a call from an attorney in Santa Monica, California who had a case and said, “I need a handwriting expert and there’s a forgery.” I said, “I don’t do that kind of work. I just do personality assessment.” Then, he said, “Do you know handwriting?” I said, “Yes, I’ve been practicing it for almost twenty years.” He said, “I’ll get you qualified. We’re going to court tomorrow.” I was like, “What?!” I knew nothing about document examination at that time. I knew handwriting, so I was dumb enough, or arrogant enough, whatever, to say yes.

I immediately called somebody I knew that had done some study in that work. She didn’t do the work, but she had books, and she told me some of the things that I needed to know. The next day we went to court. I was on the witness stand in a voir dire and the attorney’s partner was the one who was doing the questioning. He asked me some questions that I answered confidently. Then he said, “Ms. Lowe, is there a hierarchy of opinions in document examination?” I said, “Yes.” I had studied that the night before and he said, “What are they?” I turned to the judge and said, “I’m sorry, your Honor, I’ve gone blank.” The judge said, “That’s okay. It happens to all of us. She’s qualified.” That was the start.

Noah Bolmer: You said that you were- obviously, how prepared could have you possibly been? You had to be on the stand the following day, so I imagine that was quite stressful moving forward from there. How did you go about making sure that you had all of the facts and that you were well prepared?

Sheila Lowe: I took courses, workshops, and got mentors. All the important things. The fact was I did know handwriting.

Noah Bolmer: Sure.

Sheila Lowe: I could compare the questioned signatures with the exemplars. I wouldn’t recommend somebody do that and just come in cold. It’s not like I didn’t know anything, but I didn’t know the procedures or those things. So, I studied a lot.

Noah Bolmer: These days when you get a phone call from an attorney, as an experienced professional, how do you go about vetting them, because they’re vetting you as the expert witness. How do you go about making sure that you are the right person for the particulars of the case that you’re being engaged?

Sheila Lowe: I hear what they need and I determine whether it’s something that I want to be involved with or am qualified for. If I’m not, I’ll refer it to a colleague who may have different specialized qualifications. The first thing to do is to have a conflict check and make sure that you know who the parties are. I think of a colleague who worked on a case and then about a year later got a call from another attorney and accepted the case. They did the whole examination and then discovered, by a third party, that she was on the other side. She was giving opinions on both sides and that’s a bad idea. It’s embarrassing, so you want to do a conflict check and make sure you’re not involved. The way I do that is I keep a spreadsheet of all of the cases that I take on.

Noah Bolmer: Speaking of conflicts, you’ve been at this for a while. You have publications behind you on the topic. Do you ever change your mind about anything such that they might try and impeach you on it? “In 1974, you wrote that this is the case, but you just said that it’s XYZ, not ZYX. How can you explain that?” Is that something that you have to keep track of?

Sheila Lowe: My opinions in the case don’t usually change. Once I recall I received some additional materials and I did change my opinion based on that. In my reports, I always state that I reserve the right to change my opinion if additional materials are presented that caused me to change my mind.

Noah Bolmer: Let’s talk about billing and contracts. When you first get your call and you have to go over some of the payment details, do you have any special terms that you like to insert in there? For example, do you like to take a project rate or do you take a retainer? How do you handle billing?

Sheila Lowe: I have a retainer. My retainer is different from other document examiners, but I feel comfortable asking for four hours and it’s a non-refundable retainer. An attorney advised me of the reason for that a long time ago. The reason is that they use my name many times and sometimes they want to use my name without paying me for it, and they shouldn’t do that. They can often use my name to settle a case, so they should pay me something and my retainer covers that. Then I have an hourly rate. I have a contract that spells it all out. Naturally, if they’re getting work through Round Table Group, they’re not going to worry about that because it’s all handled. For other private clients it’s important because it shows what you expect from the client, what they can expect from you, and that includes what happens if they don’t pay.

Noah Bolmer: You mentioned settlements. What are your thoughts on an abundance of cases going to settlement these days rather than getting adjudicated before a jury?

Sheila Lowe: It’s my feeling that settling is always the goal and I’ve seen expert witnesses advertise on their websites that they have testified in thousands and thousands of cases in a short period of time. That’s a bad idea. I want my cases to settle, and if I had to testify in many cases I have not done my job well and my clients appreciate that.

Noah Bolmer: When you are starting on a new engagement, what are the things that you do in a broader sense to get off on the right foot?

Sheila Lowe: One of the first and important thing is to let them know that I’m not going to be a hired gun. I’m not going to say it that way necessarily, but I tell them. “I want you to understand there’s no guarantee that my opinion is going to be what you want it to be. I’m going to do a thorough examination and give you my true opinion.” It’s going to be one of three things: a signature that’s genuine, not genuine, or inconclusive, which I don’t like. In about 20% of the cases, I can’t give the opinion that the client wants. It’s important to have that out of the way up front.

Noah Bolmer: Is it difficult to give a client bad news?

Sheila Lowe: Sure. I find that when I work, and I prefer to work with attorneys, sometimes I work with private people. I like the layer of the attorney between us so that I don’t have to give them bad news. I find that with most attorneys, not all, but most that I work with appreciate knowing the truth because if the opinion is something that they don’t want, they can strategize. Maybe, I have to tell them. “I think your client is lying to you.” I don’t want to say that to the client.

Noah Bolmer: Of course. Are there any red flags that you look out for or obvious things that indicate this isn’t going to work out, and I better not accept this engagement. Or if an engagement starts, and something happens. Are there specific things that you look out for?

Sheila Lowe: When they’re pushy and trying to press for- “It’s really easy. You can see this, even I can see this.” They try to tell me what to look for in the handwriting. That would be a red flag. Also, if they call up and say, like that first guy did, “We’re going to court tomorrow and we need your opinion right now.” That’s not a good thing.

Noah Bolmer: Let’s talk a little about preparation. How do you get ready for your day in court or for a deposition?

Sheila Lowe: Take a tranquilizer. No.

Noah Bolmer: How do you get ready?

Sheila Lowe: It has evolved over the years. In fact, yesterday I was in a remote deposition, which is something I love, even though it’s better to be in the courtroom or the arbitrator room in this case. Preparing is different with remote testimony. One thing that I used to do because testifying, whether it’s in a deposition, a trial, or an arbitration is stressful. It’s the opposing attorney’s job to make me look stupid. It’s my job not to help. It’s not always easy. I used to do something called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and you can find many YouTubes on it. It’s also called tapping. It’s where you’re tapping in places on your head  and saying certain things. It works. Anybody who’s nervous, I recommend it.

Noah Bolmer: Outstanding. Beyond getting ready are there any techniques that you like to use in tense court situations? If somebody’s cross examining you or grilling you and not giving you enough time to answer the questions or you misspeak? How do you handle those tense situations in court or depositions?

Sheila Lowe: First, I prepare well because that’s the biggest defense. I want to know what I’m talking about, but I don’t take it personally, if they attack me. I know it’s what they do. I stay calm, quiet, and expressionless. Then I wait. At the end of the question, I may say, “I didn’t understand the question. Could you rephrase that?” That often knocks them off balance. I’m listening to what they say, but I’m not going to answer a question that I don’t understand or that they’re putting in a way that’s trying to box me into a corner.

Noah Bolmer: You brought up the differences between remote or telepresence hearings and trials. You mentioned that it’s better to be there in person, but it’s easier to be at home doing it from Zoom. Tell me a bit about that dichotomy. What’s different in terms of demeanor, and preparation? What’s different about telepresence compared to being there in person?

Sheila Lowe: Do you mean like wearing your pajama bottoms with a with a suit coat?

Noah Bolmer: That’s exactly what I mean.

Sheila Lowe: Driving to downtown Los Angeles from Ventura takes at least two hours, so that’s not fun. Then coming home, it’s probably going to be during rush hour. It’s always rush hour. It’s not fun. You have less time. I have colleagues who charge the same regardless. I don’t. That’s not fair, so I charge an hourly rate when I’m doing remote testimony. I have a day rate, a flat rate for going downtown or a distance is a different rate.

My demeanor is going to be the same regardless. I feel more comfortable having notes when I am remote because they can’t see what I’m looking at. I could have the same notes in front of me in court, but I once got accused by an attorney when I was testifying. “She’s reading her testimony.” It wasn’t true, so I closed the book that I had with my notes and I testified completely without being able to refer to anything. That was fine because I knew what I was talking about.

Noah Bolmer: Let’s shift gears a bit. Do you have any stories about cases that you’ve been on that either fundamentally changed the way you go about expert witnessing or reinforce something that you were already doing?

Sheila Lowe: I remember being on the witness stand in a criminal hearing during COVID, with the mask, which was uncomfortable testifying. Some judges would say you could take your mask off and others would not. Anyway, the client was pro per and it was a criminal case. He was- the deck was stacked against him. The prosecutor was asking me a question, and he was fumbling it, not doing a good job. I wanted to say what I think you mean is and I had to quickly stop myself and say it’s not your job to help the attorney with cross examination.

Noah Bolmer: That’s an important point and it’s easy because in your profession, you want to help people. You want to talk to people so it can be difficult not to not to fall into that. You were talking earlier about arbitrations. Is there a difference between any aspect of your job as an expert witness when you are in an alternative dispute resolution, like arbitration, compared to a typical jury trial? Or is it the same?

Sheila Lowe: For me it’s the same. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing. Something else came to mind about a question you asked. You asked if I had a bad experience. This is important for anybody who is new. I was going to a deposition in Orange County, which is one hundred miles from where I live. I was clear with my client attorney about what my fee was going to be. When I got to the office of the attorney who was deposing me, apparently he didn’t know and refused to pay me for any more than one hour, which I think at the time- it was a long time ago. It was like $250. I drove two hundred miles, did the thing and that was a bad experience. The same thing happened to me when I had to drive to San Diego. It was the same attorney. You think I would have learned and I talked to that attorney strongly about it. That was a case where I was paid- it should have been about $2,500, but it was way less than that, and it took me six hours to drive home.

Noah Bolmer: I bet you haven’t made that mistake since then.

Sheila Lowe: No. I would encourage people to make sure before leaving your office that you know that you’re going to get paid and how you’re going to get paid.

Noah Bolmer: Speaking of getting paid, you mentioned that you take a retainer. Do you have different rates for things like an expert witness report versus something like a deposition? Or is that all your basic hourly rate?

Sheila Lowe: For depositions, I have a flat- I have a minimum fee for two hours and then my hourly rate is $100 more than my regular hourly rate. The same for court because it’s more stressful.

Noah Bolmer: You’ve been doing this for a while. Have you noticed any differences in expert witnessing in general since you first began in the profession?

Sheila Lowe: Not in the process. That doesn’t change. Since 2010, we’ve had the issue of handwriting not being taught and I’m sure that eventually that’s going to catch up with us. It’s coming back into the schools now. Twenty-seven states now require training in handwriting. That will change things later because of the people who now don’t know how to write. Of course, we now have digital signatures which different. I don’t get into that. I send that to other people.

Noah Bolmer: With a fairly dynamic field with laws and things changing, how do you stay abreast of the goings on? How do you not only become an expert, but how do you remain an expert in your field?

Sheila Lowe: It’s important to be a member of a reputable organization. I am in the Scientific Association of Forensic Examiners, and I’ve been on the board for quite a few years. Now, I’m the ethics chair. Being in an organization of people who are vetted, not everybody is accepted into that. They do a background check and a questionnaire and I’m sure, I don’t do that part, but I’m sure that you have to have recommendations. I’m the President of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation and we require two professional recommendations. That is also important with SAFE, we call it that because that’s easier than saying Scientific Association of Forensic Examiners. We have a monthly continuing education program and the goal is to get all of the people who are new to become certified professionals. We have an annual conference online. You have to keep up your education.

Noah Bolmer: Do these educational opportunities also serve as networking opportunities? You mentioned earlier that if you get a call about something that’s not necessarily in your wheelhouse, you might pass it off to somebody else. Do you make those sorts of connections at these conferences and in these agencies?

Sheila Lowe: You certainly can and it is much easier when you have an in-person conference. We haven’t done that since COVID, but having this opportunity online is good too. For instance, in SAFE we have people who are experts in paper and ink, which is something that if somebody calls me about that, I refer them out. Or somebody has an ESDA machine or a VHC which are specialized. I don’t have them in my office, but I know somebody who does. I can ask the client if we can bring that person in.

Noah Bolmer: In your niche, would you say that a large percentage of the business is in referrals?

Sheila Lowe: In my case, that’s all- because I don’t advertise. Of course, now with the Internet, as you said, I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve been testifying since 1985. Now, it’s much easier for people to find you. Somebody called me this morning from Alaska and I said, “How did you find me?” He said, “I Googled you. I looked at all of these people on Google, and I decided you were the one that I wanted to talk to.” That makes it easy.

Noah Bolmer: Before we wrap up, do you have any last advice for expert witnesses and in particular newer expert witnesses who are just getting started?

Sheila Lowe: My advice is to know your craft and to know what you’re doing. As I said, be honest, be clear and do your homework when you’re going to testify in any venue.

Noah Bolmer: Sage advice, Miss Lowe. Thank you for joining me today.

Sheila Lowe: Thank you too.

Noah Bolmer: And thank you to our listeners for joining us for another episode of Engaging Experts

Sheila Lowe, Owner, Sheila Lowe and Associates

Sheila Lowe, is the owner of Sheila Lowe and Associates, a handwriting authentication and behavioral profiling firm. She’s a published author of handwriting analysis books as well as mystery novels. Ms. Lowe holds a master’s in psychology from California Coast University.