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Direct examination of lay witnesses: be well prepared, make the witness part of the client's story, start strong and finish strong: use these fundamental trial techniques when questioning lay witnesses to persuade the jury to provide fair compensation for your client.

Article Excerpt
Think back to the last case you tried. How much time did you spend preparing your client for his or her testimony? Working with expert witnesses? Planning your voir dire, opening statement, and closing arguments?

More often than not, lawyers spend most of their time and other resources on getting ready for these exciting parts of the trial. The presentation of lay witnesses frequently is little more than an afterthought. As a result, lawyers risk doing a poor job putting on the witnesses that jurors may find most persuasive.

Think about it--your client has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the case, experts for both sides may be perceived as hired guns, and the judge will probably instruct the jury at least three times that what the lawyers say in voir dire or opening and closing is not evidence on which they may base their verdict. Pretty much all that's left are your documents and lay witnesses.

How do you make the most of your lay witnesses? By working on these fundamentals: Be well prepared, make the witness part of your client's story, and start and finish strong.

Preparation

Preparing for lay witness testimony begins long before trial. Two categories of potential lay witnesses should be identified in your initial investigation of the case: those with knowledge that relates to liability issues and those who will support your damages case.

Interview and take statements from members of the first group as early as possible. Do not rely on accident reports alone. If the case or witness does not justify an in-person interview, send a short questionnaire for the witness to complete.

It is important to explore the bounds of the witness's knowledge, as well as any biases he or she may have. This is crucial. Once the witness is on the stand, it is too late to learn that he or she thinks that the collision was just another "unavoidable accident" or that most people shouldn't file lawsuits.

Lay witnesses whose knowledge relates primarily to damages will most often be the client's friends, family, coworkers, or certain health care providers like physical therapists or home health care aides. Identify these potential witnesses early and determine the part...

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