Footwear Expert Witnesses
What is a footwear expert witness?
Footwear expert witness candidates typically have backgrounds in fashion or footwear design, materials science, biomechanics, podiatry, and/or manufacturing. The expert witness chosen could be a member of an industry organization, such as the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the United States Footwear Manufacturers Association (USFMA), Scientific Working Group for Shoeprint and Tire Tread Evidence (SWGTREAD), or the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of American (FDRA). In a high-profile case, or litigation involving a significant financial stake, counsel may request a testifying expert with prior expert witness experience.
What types of cases require a footwear expert witness?
Footwear manufacturers must comply with industry standards in order to ensure quality and safety, and a case may require knowledge of such regulations. Some of the standards/regulations that apply to footwear products include:
- Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)
- GB Standards
- ASTM Standards
- ISO Standards
- AAFA Restricted Substance List
Matters requiring footwear expert witness services often involve intellectual property, such as patent infringement litigation, trade secrets, industrial design rights, trade dress, and trademarks. A specialist footwear might also provide expert testimony in a product liability case, personal injury matter, or assist an FBI crime scene investigator with forensic evidence analysis such as footwear impression evidence.
What litigation support work might a footwear expert witness be expected to perform?
Litigation support by a footwear expert witness could include research and authoring expert reports, providing expert opinions, expert testimony, and courtroom testimony. An expert witness needs to possess the ability to explain footwear evidence to a judge and jury.
Cahn Litigation Services is called on by leading law firms to locate expert witnesses that can support footwear matters and present expert evidence to support a case. Whether the case involves shoe print physical evidence, footwear mark, tool mark evidence, footwear analysis, or high-quality outsole design, Cahn Litigation Services has the experience required to turn a search for a footwear expert witness around quickly, providing the right balance of expertise and testimony experience.
Related Disciplines
Footwear Expert Witness - Representative Bios
Please Note: All Cahn Litigation expert witness searches are customized to attorneys' precise specifications and preferences. Attorneys are encouraged to discuss search parameters with a Cahn search specialist.
The below expert witness bios represent a small fraction of those Footwear experts known by Cahn Litigation Services. These bios are provided to give lawyers a sense of the Footwear landscape.
Expert Witness #262301
This expert has worked in the footwear and accessories industry for many years, focusing on product design, technical development, merchandising and strategy. During this expert’s extensive footwear and accessories career this expert has had the opportunity to work on footwear embellishment programs from initial concept through design, and product development.
This expert has provided expert services in the footwear and accessories industry, drafting expert reports, providing successful outcomes in trial and deposition testimony, as well as working with attorneys on design patent, utility patent, trademark and trade dress litigation.
This expert currently holds a faculty role as a Footwear Design Instructor. As part of the curriculum, this expert instructs students on understanding how Intellectual Property impacts original conceptualization.
Start Footwear Expert SearchExpert Witness #262311
This expert's main area of expertise is footwear and footwear construction, manufacture and design including the use of both functional and decorative elements. Recent projects have included analysis of patents and the uses of fasteners, functional and decorative, applied to footwear and accessories.
This expert is currently a Consultant to the legal and corporate communities in the areas of intellectual property, patent and trademark infringement, and copyright and trade dress issues in fashion and accessory design. Previously this expert taught at multiple design schools. Instruction included Footwear Design, Handbag & Accessory Design, and 2D and 3D model making. This expert holds a degree in Accessory Design, a BFA, an MFA and has studied at a prestigious art institute.
Start Footwear Expert SearchExpert Witness #248617
This expert is a star in the world of women's fashion footwear. The designer will launch a women's label with a strong focus on leather flats. This expert has studied apparel and worked in the footwear industry for over many years for a variety of well-known high-end brands. This expert complimented a professional experience with learning from top shoemaking resources to understand the business from a craftsmanship perspective. Specializing in the design and development of private-label shoes for women, this expert has developed new molds, heels, outsoles and other components. This expert has created entire collections of footwear, consisting of nearly 100 styles per season for retail in the US and Canada. This expert is also highly familiar with both the manufacturing and retail sales side of the industry. This expert has been deposed and testified.
Start Footwear Expert SearchExpert Witness #248609
This expert was a designer of fashion forward women's shoes for companies in multiple countries. This expert's shoes have been in virtually every department and specialty store in America, and this expert's knowledge of sandals is thorough, having worked as the Designer for a domestic sandal manufacturer. Considered one of the "IT-Designers" of the shoe industry, this expert played a key role in defining the direction of footwear design. This expert has spent many years teaching Applied Footwear Design and Advanced Footwear Development at a Fashion Institute. This expert has prior litigation experience, but has not had the opportunity to testify in court.
Start Footwear Expert SearchExpert Witness #261251
This expert has designed, developed and overseen the development of countless trims, ornaments, and hardware for apparel and accessories. The applications for these designs include footwear, apparel, bags, and belts. This expert’s design and development work includes creating technical design specifications, working with factories to produce the design from sample through production, ensuring ease and security of function, and desirable appearance.
This expert has considerable experience in intellectual property matters and as an expert witness in design infringement matters, trademark and unfair competition matters, and has served as a consultant for design through manufacturing of consumer goods in Chinese and Hong Kong factories.
Start Footwear Expert SearchExpert Witness #262282
This expert has worked on clothing design projects for decades, from developing the initial product requirements, selecting materials from fibers through material constructions, to the final product development and manufacturing. This expert has provided expert testimony in several patent infringement cases, providing opinion on claims construction to infringement to invalidity.
This expert is a member of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, is an accomplished author and speaker, inventor on eight patents, and is a Professor Emerita, School of Materials Science and Engineering. This expert holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry, and a BS in Chemistry.
Start Footwear Expert SearchExpert Witness #248622
This expert is a designer, artist, and educator, and well versed in shoe design and specifically in construction. This expert has designed and supervised the construction details of 100's of thousands of shoes. In many years of producing women's footwear, this expert has collaborated hands-on with over 50 factories, designing and crafting collections ranging from casuals to the finest couture level dress shoes. International fashion magazines have featured this expert's creations, and high-end department stores have sold this expert's creations.
This expert is a design consultant and part-time lecturer in the fashion department at a School of Design where this expert teaches Shoe Construction. This expert brings the eye of a sculptor and the precise methodology of an architect to practice. In the classroom this expert promotes an individualized approach to exploration of style, form and materiality and closely guides each student to achieve their personal goals. This expert holds a BFA, has received many awards and accolades for work, and sketches of this expert's work have appeared in published books.
Start Footwear Expert SearchExpert Witness #266661
This expert has served as a footwear and apparel consultant and expert witness for a decade, after having left the footwear industry. This expert ran all footwear operations including Research and Development and feels very comfortable opining on issues of design/functionality and design/history. This expert holds five US patents in the footwear functionality category.
Start Footwear Expert Search