How do an attorney and consultant work together?
A consultant will first want to know the concerns you have about your witness. The consultant will also want to be briefed on the case in general and to see videotapes or transcripts of any previous testimony. Witness training often begins with the consultant spending time alone with the witness working on basic techniques and appropriate behavior. Once the foundation has been laid the consultant will ask to have a practice session conducted by one of the attorneys on the case. This will likely be a start and stop kind of session to fine-tune the newly learned behavior. It may be necessary to meet again with the witness alone, but it may also be that continued practice with the witness and the attorney together under the guidance of the consultant will be enough to develop a good witness or substantially ameliorate problems.
