[WEBINAR] Witness Preparation – Where to Draw the Line?

No. of Public CPD Points: 2.0 Practice Area: Ethics and Professional Responsibility Training Level: General

About the Forum

Compañia De Navegación Palomar, SA v Ernest Ferdinand Perez De La Sala [2017] SGHC 14 and the corresponding appeal in Ernest Ferdinand Perez De La Sala v Compañia De Navegación Palomar, SA [2018] 1 SLR 894 were the first Singapore cases to deal at length with the thorny issue of witness preparation practices.  In the latter appeal, the Court of Appeal laid down three broad guidelines for witness preparation flowing from the fundamental principle that the witness’s evidence must be his own independent testimony: (1) solicitors cannot allow anyone to supplant the witness’s testimony; (2) witness preparation should not be too lengthy or repetitive; and (3) witness preparation should not be carried out in groups to prevent contamination of witness testimonies.  At the same time, careful witness preparation is undeniably essential to presenting a client’s case in the best possible light, and is especially important when dealing with lay witnesses who are unfamiliar with court procedures.  Where should the line be drawn between legitimate advocacy practices and practices that compromise the integrity of a witness’s evidence, and what are some best practices that solicitors can adopt when preparing witnesses?  This forum brings together a multi-jurisdictional group of speakers to discuss and share their diverse perspectives on this controversial area of legal practice.

Learning Objectives

Through this forum, participants will acquire an understanding of: -

• Different approaches to witness preparation across jurisdictions;
• Best practices and pitfalls in witness preparation;
• Ethical issues surrounding witness preparation; and
• Witness preparation in different contexts such as litigation and arbitration.

Speakers

• Gregory Vijayendran, SC – President, The Law Society of Singapore; Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

• Alvin Chen – Director (Legal Research and Development), The Law Society of Singapore

• Cameron Ford – Partner, Squire Patton Boggs Singapore

• Wade Coriell – Partner, King & Spalding (Singapore) LLP

• David Bateson – International Arbitrator Member, 39 Essex Chambers

• The Honourable Justice Choo Han Teck – Supreme Court of Singapore

• Helena Whalen-Bridge – Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore

• Tan Swee Im – International Arbitrator Member, 39 Essex Chambers

• Dinesh Dhillon – Partner, Allen & Gledhill LLP

For more information, please click here for the publicity brochure.

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