In many social science surveys in which people are asked to name their number one fear, the number one answer is “public speaking.”
Even more than death or poisonous snakes, many people fear speaking in front of others.
Perhaps lawyers don’t consider witness testimony to be “public speaking” but many witnesses do. This fear may be exacerbated for a criminal defendant, a person seeking a divorce and/or custody of children, or a party to a civil case who has a lot to gain or lose.
Often there are things that must be addressed with a client, key witness or even expert witness, that would be very difficult for the trial lawyer to do without damaging the working relationship.
It can be helpful to have a professional, who is not the trial lawyer prepare a witness or client for trial or deposition testimony.
Being a lawyer herself, Denise understands the rules of evidence, what issues can be addressed in testimony, dangerous areas of testimony that may “open the door” to otherwise excluded damaging evidence – and most importantly the attorney-client relationship. She also understands that clients and witnesses are not actors, nor should they strive to be. Jurors value sincerity, and abhor imposters. Denise works tirelessly with witnesses to bring forward and present the best genuine and authentic testimony that they can offer to the jury.
