Attorney-Attorney Consultation

Overview

Many attorneys encounter cases where the medical complexity exceeds what their current resources can handle — where hiring a standard expert consultant is not enough, and where they need a colleague who can think like both a physician and a trial lawyer simultaneously. For those situations, Barnes & Associates offers attorney-to-attorney consultation services.

Dr. Stephen A. Barnes, MD, JD, FACLM has provided medical-legal guidance to fellow attorneys across the country throughout his career, including consultation on cases in states where he was not lead counsel and appearances pro hac vice in multiple jurisdictions. He understands the position you are in when a case involves serious medical questions: you need someone who can give you an honest assessment of the medicine, help you identify the strongest legal theories, and engage with your litigation strategy as a true peer.

This is not a simple expert witness service. When you engage Barnes & Associates for attorney-attorney consultation, you gain access to a physician-attorney who has spent his career developing innovative medical malpractice claims, working with Texas Pattern Jury Charges, and building litigation strategy grounded in a clinician’s understanding of how medicine is actually practiced. Dr. Barnes has been lead author of peer-reviewed surgical research, presented at national and international meetings, and built cases that have resulted in multi-million-dollar recoveries. He brings all of that to consultations with fellow attorneys.

What We Handle

• Case merit evaluation and honest assessment of medical negligence claims
• Identification of legal theories beyond standard medical malpractice approaches
• Analysis of medical records, imaging studies, operative reports, and pathology findings
• Development of negligence per se arguments based on regulatory violations
• Review and critique of opposing expert opinions
• Deposition and cross-examination strategy for medical witnesses
• Trial strategy and theme development for medically complex cases
• Pro hac vice representation in appropriate jurisdictions

Why Consult with a Physician-Attorney?

The difference between a physician consultant and a physician-attorney consultant is the difference between getting medical information and getting medical-legal strategy. A physician consultant can tell you what the medicine means. Dr. Barnes can tell you what the medicine means, how to use it in litigation, what legal theories it supports, and how to present it effectively to a judge or jury.

Dr. Barnes is admitted to practice before Texas, New Mexico, and Montana state courts, the Southern District of Texas Federal Court, and the Fifth Circuit, and has consulted with attorneys nationwide. Whether you need a second opinion on case merit, help developing a legal strategy for a complex medical matter, or a physician-attorney who can step in as co-counsel, Barnes & Associates is the resource you need. The consultation is confidential, the analysis is honest, and the perspective is one that no purely legal or purely medical consultant can provide.