Paralegal Career For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 12

Chewing the Fat: Legal Interviewing

IN THIS CHAPTER

Conducting the initial client interview

Interviewing witnesses

Preparing clients and witnesses for giving testimony

You’ll find that you often get the most valuable information for a case when you interview clients and witnesses. Paralegals often have an advantage over their supervising attorneys when it comes to conducting interviews. Clients may be less intimidated by paralegals and find them to be more sensitive and more approachable than attorneys. So, you may be able to gain more information from a client or witness in an interview than an attorney can.

The majority of the interviews you hold serve one of two purposes: to gain information about a case from a client or witness or to prepare the client or witness to give testimony. This chapter shows you how to set up an interview with a client or witness, gives you ideas for the types of questions you ask, and provides tips on how to prepare clients and witnesses for testifying at trial.

Gauging Whether the Case Is Valid: Initial Client Interviews

The first and, perhaps, most important interview for any case is the initial client interview. The primary goal of ...