Darryl Smith, managing partner at Smith & Eulo Law Firm, tells us how he came to discover SEAK and what it means for his firm.

It is often very hard to locate highly qualified, reliable experts that can help you build a strong defense to win your case. SEAK is one of the few resources out there that provides a comprehensive expert witness directory complete with highly qualified experts in every specialty area imaginable. From ballistics to toxicology to forensic accounting, SEAK has the right expert with the requisite expertise, education, knowledge, and in-court experience to help you build and win your case. SEAK is our law firm’s go to expert directory for any of our expert witness needs.

In early 2018, I was retained on a very serious DUI manslaughter case in Central Florida, and really needed a forensic toxicologist in order to challenge several technical aspects of the state’s case, to support our theory of defense, and possibly provide some useful mitigation evidence on behalf of our client. We needed a forensic toxicologist that was highly skilled, supremely qualified, could prepare a thorough expert report in anticipation of trial, and could testify convincingly as to our theory of defense at trial if needed. I was not familiar with SEAK at the time.

I tried to search for forensic toxicology experts in the area through my own independent efforts using internet searches, references from fellow lawyers, and other expert directories, but was not satisfied with the limited results I could find. After hours of independent research, the few forensic toxicology experts I was able to actually find through my own means were either located in a different state, not responsive to my inquiries, or did not have the right expertise that I needed for my case.

I quickly realized that there is a lack of organized online expert directories available to attorneys who need to retain experts for their cases. As a result, most lawyers are stuck searching on their own or relying on blind referrals from other firms.

Fortunately, just as I was on the verge of becoming totally frustrated, I found SEAK almost by accident. I didn’t know what SEAK was, and curiously clicked on the link to see if the website could assist my largely fruitless search for a toxicology expert in any way. Using SEAK, I was not only able to locate a qualified forensic toxicology expert in my area within 5 minutes, but the expert I found was exactly the person I was looking for in terms of area of expertise and specific qualifications to fit my type of case. The forensic toxicology expert we found through SEAK has been extremely helpful to our case and an integral part of building our defense.

Lawyers and law firms like mine need an online resource that makes it easy to hop online and quickly locate the right expert with the right area of expertise and qualifications. SEAK provides the ability to find qualified experts for any type of case and any area of expertise through a simple word search.

Unlike other websites and so-called expert directories, all of the expert searches I have done through SEAK always produce relevant search results for qualified experts that are actually in my state. SEAK also allows me to review detailed bios of each prospective expert (i.e. resume, areas of expertise, education, CV, etc.), and provides full contact information for each expert so we can quickly reach out to them if we are interested.

Simply put, SEAK is in my opinion the best resource to quickly and efficiently find an expert for a case. Today, we continue to consistently use it to help us win cases. As a criminal defense law firm, It’s an invaluable tool that we proudly endorse.