BOOK REVIEW - PREPARING WITNESSES

The 2nd edition of 'Preparing witnesses : a practical guide for lawyers and their clients' by Daniel I. Small came out in 2004. Contents: Lawyer and witness--Preparing ourselves--Why prepartions matters--What preparation means--Basic principle to being a witness--Rule 1:take your time--Rule 2: always remember you are making a record--Rule 3: tell the truth--Rule 4: be relentlessly polite--Rule 5: don't answer a question you don't understand--Rule 6: if you don't remember, say so--Rule 7:don't guess--Rule 8:keep it simple--Rule 9: be careful with documents/prior statements--Rule 10:use your counsel--Making an impact--Adapting to the situation--The party witness--The expert witness--The physician as witness--The criminal defendant--The ethics of witness prparation. It contains real-world examples.