An Unprepared Witness is a Lost Witness

An ordinary person walks into a room full of strangers. Someone with an odd-looking machine is taking down every word. A stranger is waiting to ask difficult questions and pick apart the answers. Then someone tells the person to raise their right hand and swear an oath. This is not a conversation! Communicating effectively in a question-and-answer witness format is an extraordinarily unnatural and difficult process. Truly, an unprepared witness is a lost witness. In this Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article, Holland & Knight Partner Dan Small talks about the challenges of this unnatural environment, and the need for preparation. This is one of a series of articles by Mr. Small on witness preparation issues.

Mr. Small has prepared healthcare witnesses of all shapes and sizes around the country, and has written the ABA's manual, “Preparing Witnesses” (4th Ed., 2014).