[harrybr]

I've done a few pieces of expert witness work over the 2-3 years (on deceptive design / dark patterns).

Although expert witness hourly rates may look high, it really depends on how many hours you bill in a given period. If you're an expert in something very niche, there might not be enough cases in a given year to give you a meaningful income.

Don't quit your tech job yet. Expert witness work is usually only lucrative if your expertise is in high demand, like personal injury or medical malpractice.

[brk]

I often tell my consulting clients that you are not paying for my by-the-hour efforts, but you are essentially leasing my 20+ years of experience and expertise.

My hourly rates are frequently >$1,000/hr, but as you mentioned, that kind of work is not full-time. And in 99% of the cases, my clients could not get equivalent information and decision-making input faster or cheaper anyplace else.

[InefficientRed]

The real expert witness cash cow is to become the go-to expert witness on a particular issue/incident and then travel around to every state representing various plaintiffs against the same single/small set of defendants.

[Fomite]

I ended up having some expert witness work during the pandemic, about pandemic related stuff.

It was interesting, and engaging, and was indeed a nice bit of side income for a bit, but I'd be happy if I was never called upon again.