Witness Statements: Principles and Practice (Civil) - Online

Wednesday 10 am - 4 pm, one day

Indicative maximum class size: 8

Fee: £299.17 + VAT. Ask us if you'd prefer an invoice sent to your company.

The preparation of witness statements has become something of a contentious issue in recent years, resulting in adverse judicial comment, several Guidance notes, and Practice Directions, not least in the Commercial Court.

This interactive course seeks to address some of those concerns, especially for new practitioners, by taking the task of drafting a witness statement back to the first principles of evidence and evidence gathering, ensuring compliance with the relevant case law and Guidance.

This course requires some prior knowledge and experience of drafting witness statements and will provide a useful guide for the newly qualified advocate of up to 3 years PQE

Course Description

During the course delegates will:

• Review the relevant CPR, rules of evidence and relevant case law relating to witness evidence.
• Conduct a brief case analysis of a short case study and decide upon points in issue and available evidence, including any relevant matters or corroboration or discrepancy.
• Critique a draft witness statement, noting errors and omissions and possible areas for further evidence,
• Completing the draft, obtaining approval from the witness, and ensuring compliance with all formalities.
• Focus on the ethical issues for the lawyer involved in drafting witness statements.
• Group discussion on the drafting of witness statements and the impact of potential cross examination.

By the end of the course, you will, after a period of reflection and application to practice:

• Have knowledge of the application of the relevant CPR, Guidance Notes, and recent case law to drafting witness statements
• Conceptually understand a range of issues in the field of witness statements, including structure, persuasive expression, and clarity
• Have the skills to tackle and solve problems within the context of witness statements including skills of communication, planning and management and decision-making
• Be able to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of witness statement evidence.

How you’re taught

This course will be delivered live, online, between 10 am and 4 pm each day with a 45 minute break for lunch at 12.30 pm.

On enrolment, you will receive a programme, a short reading list/workbook, a case study and an exercise which must be completed prior to the course. You must read the case study prior to the course.

On completion, you will receive a Certificate of Completion and feedback form.

Any questions?

Contact Nottingham Law School:

Email: [email protected]