Witnesses: The Foundation to a Successful Case
“Attorneys and Experts are paid to give their opinions. The only people I could trust were the witnesses and one side was clearly NOT telling the truth.”-Mock Juror
Whether it is a jury trial, bench trial, protective order hearing, removal from country proceeding, or testimony from a political representative, the credibility of a witness’ testimony often determines the success or failure of a case.
Witness Testimony: Financial and Life-Altering Repercussions
When testifying the words a witness chooses will be the most expensive and life-altering words a person will ever speak. A witness’ words may influence his or her wealth, family, livelihood, or even freedom. In corporate cases, effective witness testimony has significant financial repercussions. For the defense, effective depositions often lead to a better opportunity for settlement, or diminished damages at trial. For the plaintiff, effective depositions can lead to a higher case valuation at settlement or increased awards at trial. Our closest clients now call us well in advance of depositions to ensure their witness’ statements do not dramatically shift the expected course of a case because the investment in witnesses training can save them or earn them millions or billions of dollars in awards.
Attorney Limitations: Let Experts be Experts
Attorneys are experts in the Law and live in the world of litigation day in and day out; as a result they do not always understand the emotional stress caused by a lawsuit or the cognitive challenges associated with legal testimony. Attorneys are often incredibly busy and their time is not always best utilized discussing an individual’s emotional concerns or talking through effective answer options. We recommend allowing experts to be experts. As experts in human communication we save the attorney and witness valuable time and eliminate any friction that may result from frustrating preparation sessions between attorneys and witnesses.
Delphi Method: Learning Fosters Change, Practice Ingrains Change
We have worked with some of the most emotionally challenging witnesses who have experienced the trauma of political torture, sexual abuse, battered spouses, elderly abuse, PTSD from severe trauma, and other emotional factors. We have also worked with intellectually gifted individuals who are software designers, doctors, chemists, engineers, financial professionals or college professors who face difficulty communicating complex and sophisticated concepts to lay individuals. From this array of experience, we recognize that each witness faces his or her own unique challenges. Delphi consultants perform an assessment of each witness to tailor the training to accommodate the witness’ communication patterns. Following the assessment, Delphi consultants prepare a witness training strategy to address a variety of factors related to a witness’ cognitive capability, emotional stability, communicative behavior, psychological challenges, environmental misperception, and self-esteem issues among others. Delphi consultants then work with the attorney to prepare questions simulating the questions a witness will face as well as the stress factors associated with the witness’ testimony. The final result is a witness who has learned the effective techniques taught by the consultant, but has also learned to develop his or her own effective style when answering questions, and to manage the stress of challenging questioning.
Witnesses must learn to stand by their own words and speak the truth confidently in the face of opposition—at Delphi we seek to equip witnesses with the requisite tools to do so.