By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

Attorney Carol Heckman, a partner in the Buffalo office of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, will discuss "Brush Up Your Expertise on Experts: Amendments to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules" on April 13.

The CLE program, part of the Bar Association of Erie County's Noonday Lecture Series, is scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. at the BAEC office at 438 Main St., Buffalo.

Heckman served eight years as a magistrate judge in the Western District of New York. She has  more than  33 years of experience as a trial and appellate lawyer.

She plans to address three significant changes to Rule 26 of the federal rules that went into effect Dec. 10.

• Draft expert reports, previously discoverable, are now protected.

• With limited exception, communications between experts and counsel are undiscoverable.

• Even nonreporting experts must now be disclosed.

The CLE program will outline the changes for attendees and how they are likely to affect expert practice.

Heckman said that in the past, she was a frequent speaker on legal topics and decided to make a return to lecturing.

"There was a significant change in the rules here and I wanted to not only take the opportunity to educate myself, but also to write and speak about the topic," she said.

Calling the changes "rather technical," she said they come under the federal rules of evidence as they relate to specific details of disclosure that lawyers must make when they are using experts in a case.

"There are (several) additions or changes to the rule that I will be discussing," she said. "In some ways, the disclosure rule has been expanded, and in other ways it has been tightened up."

According to Heckman, attorneys who practice in federal court would benefit most from the April 13 program.

"Experts are where it's at when it comes to proving your case," she said.

"So this is a major deal."

To register, call the Bar Association of Erie County at 852-8687.