DRAFTING WITNESS STATEMENTS THAT COMPLY WITH THE RULES: WEBINAR 14th OCTOBER 2021

As part of a series of webinars on Civil Evidence I am presenting a webinar on witness statements on the 14th October 2021. Looking at rules and guidance relating to witness evidence and the importance of complying with them. Booking details are available here. 

 

“Too often (indeed far too often) witnesses who have had statements prepared for them by solicitors tell the Judge that matters in the statement are not correct; they say (all too believably) that they simply signed what the solicitor had drafted for them without reading it through carefully and critically. This reflects badly not only on the witness, but on the whole case presented by the party calling the witness.” (11.1 of the Handbook for Litigants in Person).

MATTERS COVERED BY THE WEBINAR

 

  • The mandatory requirements for witness statements and the consequences of non-compliance
  • Protecting the witness from the lawyer
  • Protecting the lawyer from the witness
  • Witness statements and proportionality
  • Where lawyers go badly wrong with witness evidence
  • Explaining the significance of the statement of truth.
  • A checklist for taking a statement