Ethical Witness Preparation

This episode was originally released on July 14, 2022 | In the final episode of Holland & Knight's "Ethical Witness Preparation" podcast series, "The Ethical Witness: Ethical Deposition Conduct," litigation attorney Dan Small discusses the importance of ethical conduct during a deposition. Mr. Small notes that lawyers must understand the rules governing conduct and be able to clearly explain it to the witness. He then provides a clear example of what not to do in a deposition, before examining three areas that raise the most common conduct issues.

This episode was originally released on June 30, 2022 | In the fourth episode of Holland & Knight's "Ethical Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Finding the Balance," litigation attorney Dan Small draws a parallel between witness preparation and translating different languages. Mr. Small also references the Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers to emphasize the importance of telling the truth.

This episode was originally released on June 17, 2022 | In the third episode of Holland & Knight's "Ethical Witness Preparation" podcast series, "A Tortured Journey with the Lying Witness," litigation attorney Dan Small takes an in-depth look at a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rule and the impact it can have in civil and criminal cases.

This episode was originally released on June 2, 2022 | In the second episode of Holland & Knight's "Ethical Witness Preparation" podcast series, "The Ethical Witness: The Four Horsemen of the Lying Witness Apocalypse," litigation attorney Dan Small examines four strategies attorneys can use to avoid the perjury dilemma. He breaks down the pros and cons of each of these "Four Horsemen" — persuasion, narrative, withdrawal and disclosures — as well as explains how other states and courts have approached them.

This episode was originally released on May 19, 2022 | In the first episode of Holland & Knight's "Ethical Witness Preparation" podcast series, "The Ethical Witness: The Extreme Case," litigation attorney Dan Small begins a five-part series addressing the main ethical issues that arise in witness preparation. Mr. Small opens with a look at the extreme case of perjured testimony. He uses a real-life example from a divorce trial to show why witness preparation can be so difficult to do both effectively and ethically, especially under the pressures of a trial. He also points out that the truth may not always present itself, but there are better ways to communicate with clients to get them to say the right thing.