Magnet Certified Forensics Examiner (MCFE). Court-qualified in federal and state proceedings. Clear, credible testimony that stands up to cross-examination.
The Waldrep Company provides court-qualified digital forensics expert witness services to attorneys in civil and criminal matters across the United States. With 19 years of hands-on casework in federal and state courts, Eric Waldrep delivers clear, technically sound testimony that judges and juries can follow.
Eric is a Magnet Certified Forensics Examiner (MCFE), a UAS/Drone Forensics Specialist, and a U.S. State Department ATA Cyber Mentor, and he works daily with Cellebrite UFED, GrayKey, and Magnet AXIOM. Every opinion is formed with Daubert and Frye scrutiny in mind, using methods that can be documented, repeated, and defended.
Whether you need a retained expert to review opposing counsel's analysis, provide deposition testimony, or take the stand at trial, the goal is the same: reliable, defensible opinions grounded in peer-accepted methodology. Eric's full background is on the about page.
Federal courts, state courts, and administrative proceedings nationwide. Available for travel.
Early. Digital evidence has a shelf life, and most of it is lost to routine handling, not bad faith.
The most common regret we hear from attorneys is not calling sooner. Phones get traded in. Company laptops get reimaged for the next hire. Cloud accounts sit under retention policies that quietly overwrite the records a case turns on. None of that is malicious. It is simply what happens to data when nobody tells anyone to stop.
Early involvement changes what is possible. We help counsel draft preservation letters that name the actual data sources, scope discovery requests so they capture artifacts rather than just documents, and identify which devices and accounts matter before money is spent imaging the wrong ones. That is the core value of a digital forensics expert for attorneys: knowing what to preserve before it is gone.
A free initial consultation is usually enough to tell you whether digital evidence can carry weight in your case.
Two different roles. Picking the right one at the start protects both your budget and your strategy.
A consulting expert works in the background: reviewing the evidence, assessing the other side's forensic work, and telling you plainly whether the data helps you, hurts you, or does neither. A testifying expert is disclosed to opposing counsel, signs a report, and defends every opinion in it at deposition and trial.
Many engagements start in the consulting role, billed from $425/hr, and convert to a testifying role once the evidence supports disclosed opinions. If the review does not support your theory, you hear it early and privately.
When the case does call for disclosed opinions, findings are documented in a signed expert report or declaration written for Rule 26 disclosure and built to be defended, not just filed.
Deposition and trial testimony then rest on that report: every opinion traceable to an artifact, every method documented, nothing in the record that cannot be explained from the stand.
Every engagement is handled with the end-goal in mind: opinions that survive challenge and testimony that moves the finder of fact.
All methodologies are peer-accepted and traceable. Eric documents every analytical step to withstand rigorous qualification challenges.
Complex digital evidence translated into plain language. Demonstrative exhibits and visual aids available for trial presentation.
Experienced at identifying methodological flaws in opposing expert work. Rebuttal opinions delivered with clear citations and comparisons.
Expedited review available for time-sensitive matters. We understand court deadlines and work to meet them without cutting corners.
Complimentary case review for attorneys. Confidential. We'll tell you honestly whether digital forensics can strengthen your case.
Based in Alabama and available to travel for depositions and trial nationwide. Remote consultation and testimony also available.
Technical findings only matter if the finder of fact understands them.
Eric has worked casework in federal and state courts, for prosecution and defense in criminal matters and for plaintiff and defense counsel in civil litigation. That work includes deposition testimony, evidentiary hearings, and trial testimony under cross-examination.
Jurors do not follow database schemas or hex offsets, and they should not have to. The job on the stand is to say what the artifact means in plain terms: this message was sent from this device at this time, and here is how we know. Before private practice, Eric spent 27 years in law enforcement explaining technical findings to non-technical audiences.
Counsel gets support well before the testimony date. Preparation sessions walk through the opinions and the exhibits. Draft direct examination questions give each opinion room to land. Mock cross-examination surfaces the weak points while there is still time to address them.
Demonstrative exhibits, timelines, and visual aids are prepared as the case requires, simple enough for a jury to absorb at a glance.
Opinions built the same way they will be attacked: method first.
Every examination uses methods the forensic community has tested and accepted, run with industry-standard tools including Cellebrite UFED, GrayKey, and Magnet AXIOM. Each analytical step is documented so another qualified examiner could repeat the work and reach the same result. Where a method has known limitations, the report says so, because limits hidden on direct examination become weapons on cross.
No expert can promise the court will qualify them, and you should hear alarm bells from anyone who does. What can be shown is a record: casework in federal and state courts.
The same scrutiny gets applied in reverse. If the other side has served an expert report, the Opposing Expert Report Review examines its methodology, tool use, and conclusions for gaps, at $2,750 flat.
Attorneys who want a structured starting point before retaining anyone can work from the free expert report review checklist. For the whole legal team, Digital Evidence for Legal Professionals is a self-paced course on what the rules require of digital evidence and how it is challenged.
A short, predictable path from first call to work product. Most engagements are underway within days.
It starts with a free consultation. Describe the matter in general terms and you will get a straight answer about whether digital forensics can help and what it will cost. Nothing about the call obligates you.
If you move forward, a conflict check runs first, usually the same day. An engagement letter follows, defining scope, fees, and confidentiality, and work begins once the retainer is received. Consulting and review time bills from $425/hr, forensic acquisition is $1,500 per device, and the complete schedule is published on the rates page.
Location is rarely an obstacle. The practice is based in Addison, Alabama and serves attorneys nationwide: intake and conferences run remotely, devices ship for acquisition, and Eric travels for depositions, hearings, and trial. Call (251) 216-1164 or email info@thewaldrepcompany.com.
Surface methodology gaps, Daubert vulnerabilities, and unsupported conclusions in an opposing expert's report, before they reach the bench.
Cost, timing, remote work, and the qualification question attorneys always ask.
We offer a free, confidential consultation for attorneys. Call or email to get started today.
Want investigators who can survive cross-examination? The Certified OSINT Investigator, Court-Ready Practitioner (COI-CRP) course teaches evidence handling, chain of custody, declarations, and Daubert, the same standards we testify to.
Tell us what the matter involves and we will respond personally. Initial consultations are free, and nothing you send here is a retention.