It is troubling to see how many lawyers are unable to question a witness. It is an acquired skill which reflects a lawyer’s experience and interpersonal skills. Lawyers are not sensitive souls. They have a hard time reading people because they are not so comfortable with themselves (some may say that is why they entered the practice of law).
That does not apply to every lawyer. There are some who have the ability to make witnesses comfortable and to extract everything they can from a witness. It is interesting and instructive to watch those talented lawyers conduct witness examinations.
Lawyers need to be patient and they need to “read” the witness. That means watching the witness’ face, eyes, body language and listening carefully to the words, the tone and the manner in which the witness answers questions. If a lawyer goes in for a “kill” question, or to start to launch vitriolic threats, they are guaranteed to fail. It is a dance – which can sometimes be slow and sometimes fast.
Here are some basic steps that a lawyer conducting an interview needs to take...
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