DRAFTING WITNESS STATEMENTS AND THE LAWYER AS WITNESS

December 23, 2013 · by · in Civil evidence, Useful links, Witness statements

There have been several posts about drafting witness statements on this blog.  Here I am referring readers to comments made by Richard Moorhead in his blog “Lawyer Watch”. The first refers to a case where the solicitor for a party gave evidence in the case; the second relates to ethical difficulties in drafting witness statements.

There is an interesting post by Professor Moorhead at http://lawyerwatch.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/getting-too-close-to-the-action-how-to-blind-yourself-to-ethical-rules/  setting out a case in which the solicitor for defendants in an action elected to be a witness in that action. Indeed he was the only witness for the defendants.

Things did not go well, as readers of the post will see.The case makes salutary reading for anyone thinking of giving evidence on their client’s behalf.

There is also an interesting blog post from earlier this year on the ethics of drafting witness statements, see http://lawyerwatch.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/curb-your-enthusiasm-time-to-act-on-finessing-witness-statements/

RELATED POSTS

here are plenty of posts in relation to relief from sanctions on this blog.

  • The importance of drafting witness statements that comply with the rules

http://civillitigationbrief.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/the-importance-of-drafting-witness-statements-that-comply-with-the-rules/

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