Read Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients Daniel I Small 9781590313794 Books
Read Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients Daniel I Small 9781590313794 Books
Download As PDF : Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients Daniel I Small 9781590313794 Books
This new book has been expanded with over 10 new chapters including The Party Witness, The Expert Witness, The Physician as Witness and the Criminal Defendant.
Read Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients Daniel I Small 9781590313794 Books
"This small paperback is filled with excellent advice on how to properly prepare a client to testify. This is an often-overlooked part of legal practice that can greatly affect the outcome of a case. Mr. Small makes clear that if your witness does a poor job, it's because you didn't spend enough time in preparation.
He writes:
The critical importance of preparation regarding the process of how to be a witness - not just reviewing the facts - is based on the fundamental difference between communication in a normal conversation and in a precise and unnatural question and answer format.
Mr. Small is a partner in the Miami office of Duane Morris, LLP and is the author of two other ABA books, Going to Trial and Letters for Litigators. He's had extensive jury trial and litigation experience over the last 25 years both as a federal prosecutor and in private practice. He was a Lecturer at Harvard Law School and has taught trial advocacy at Harvard and other law schools.
This concise book certainly stresses that hard work and effective presentation are essential. The author excels at conveying practical advice with real-world examples. He addresses common mistakes that lawyers make and warns that "a failure in preparation is a failure in representation."
He then explores seven mistakes that lawyers make, including the all-to-familiar, "I'm too busy," or my "client's too busy." He also explores common client mistakes like, "I don't need help," or "I didn't do anything wrong."
Mr. Small lays out in step-by-step fashion how to properly prepare witnesses. He then explains basic principles of being a witness like, "listen, listen, listen."
As an example, he cites the West Wing television series when C.J., the President's Press Secretary, has been subpoenaed to testify and meets with the White House counsel to prepare.
C.J. is intelligent and believes that she has better things to do than prepare for testimony. She is hesitant to take advice and is not giving counsel her full cooperation. In the middle of their conversation, he asks her:
Counsel: Do you know what time it is?
C.J. Sure, it's 4:30.
Counsel: You've got to get out of the habit of doing that!
C.J. Doing what?
Counsel: Answering more than what was asked!
(Pause)
Do you know what time it is?
(Long Pause)
C.J. Yes.
Counsel: Now we're making progress.
The book also has a CD-Rom containing many materials including a witness preparation summary. It is thoughtfully written in both Microsoft Word and PDF so that you can easily adapt it to your particular practice. I highly recommend this book."
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Tags : Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients [Daniel I. Small] on . This new book has been expanded with over 10 new chapters including The Party Witness, The Expert Witness,Daniel I. Small,Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients,American Bar Association,1590313798,Examination of witnesses;United States.,Trial practice;United States.,Courts,Criminal Evidence And Analysis,Examination of witnesses,Law,Law / Witnesses,Law Witnesses,Legal Reference / Law Profession,Trial practice,United States,Witnesses
Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients Daniel I Small 9781590313794 Books Reviews :
Preparing Witnesses A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients Daniel I Small 9781590313794 Books Reviews
- This small paperback is filled with excellent advice on how to properly prepare a client to testify. This is an often-overlooked part of legal practice that can greatly affect the outcome of a case. Mr. Small makes clear that if your witness does a poor job, it's because you didn't spend enough time in preparation.
He writes
The critical importance of preparation regarding the process of how to be a witness - not just reviewing the facts - is based on the fundamental difference between communication in a normal conversation and in a precise and unnatural question and answer format.
Mr. Small is a partner in the Miami office of Duane Morris, LLP and is the author of two other ABA books, Going to Trial and Letters for Litigators. He's had extensive jury trial and litigation experience over the last 25 years both as a federal prosecutor and in private practice. He was a Lecturer at Harvard Law School and has taught trial advocacy at Harvard and other law schools.
This concise book certainly stresses that hard work and effective presentation are essential. The author excels at conveying practical advice with real-world examples. He addresses common mistakes that lawyers make and warns that "a failure in preparation is a failure in representation."
He then explores seven mistakes that lawyers make, including the all-to-familiar, "I'm too busy," or my "client's too busy." He also explores common client mistakes like, "I don't need help," or "I didn't do anything wrong."
Mr. Small lays out in step-by-step fashion how to properly prepare witnesses. He then explains basic principles of being a witness like, "listen, listen, listen."
As an example, he cites the West Wing television series when C.J., the President's Press Secretary, has been subpoenaed to testify and meets with the White House counsel to prepare.
C.J. is intelligent and believes that she has better things to do than prepare for testimony. She is hesitant to take advice and is not giving counsel her full cooperation. In the middle of their conversation, he asks her
Counsel Do you know what time it is?
C.J. Sure, it's 430.
Counsel You've got to get out of the habit of doing that!
C.J. Doing what?
Counsel Answering more than what was asked!
(Pause)
Do you know what time it is?
(Long Pause)
C.J. Yes.
Counsel Now we're making progress.
The book also has a CD-Rom containing many materials including a witness preparation summary. It is thoughtfully written in both Microsoft Word and PDF so that you can easily adapt it to your particular practice. I highly recommend this book.
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