About the Course
Introduction
This CLE webinar will discuss the ethics of witness preparation in light of ABA Formal Opinion 508, "The Ethics of Witness Preparation." The panel will examine this essential skill, recurring witness preparation strategies and practices, and will then debate and critique when some perfectly ethical practices may cross the line and become unethical. The panel will also discuss the pros and cons of using voice-to-text technology and AI analysis to help witnesses improve their testimony.
Description
Witness preparation has always been an expected and even essential part of trial preparation. Indeed, failure to prepare witnesses may even be malpractice or an ethical violation. Any lawyer who engages in preparation of witnesses, whether for administrative or other types of hearings or court or jury trials, must know the ethical rules and restrictions on preparing witnesses and clients.
But as FO 508 discusses, there is a big difference between ethical preparation and actions that interfere with the integrity of the justice system and obstruct another party's access to evidence (Op. 508 at 4). A lawyer's "duty is to extract the facts from the witness, not to pour them into him; to learn what the witness does know, not to teach him what he ought to know." In the Matter of Eldridge, 82 N.Y. 161, 171 (N.Y. 1880).
FO 508 is particularly concerned with commonly used remote technologies that can be used to "coach" witnesses in new and ethically problematic ways, especially during testimony or what it calls "midcourse testimonial influence." As the panel will discuss, this type of coaching often produces much of the conduct that lawyers complain make depositions so difficult.
Listen as this panel of experienced litigators and ethics expert use vignettes to highlight what FO 508 has to say about the essential skills and ethics of witness preparation.
Presented By
Mr. Kornblum has specialized as a trial and appellate lawyer for 45 years. He has handled over 3,500 litigated matters to conclusion and has several million dollar plus cases to his credit. Mr. Kornblum’s practice focuses on representing plaintiffs, claimants, policyholders and victims of tortious and contractual wrongs in insurance bad faith, among other claims.
Mr. Levin focuses his practice on tort and commercial litigation, especially insurance bad faith and insurance coverage disputes, representing corporate and individual policyholders alike. He argued the leading Colorado case concerning pre-judgment assignment agreements to the state supreme court. Mr. Levin lectures frequently on insurance law topics.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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An excellent opportunity to earn Ethics CLE credits. Note: BARBRI cannot guarantee that this course will be approved for ethics credits in all states. To confirm, please contact our CLE department at pdservice@barbri.com.
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Date + Time
- event
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. Limit on coaching
A. "Don't volunteer information"
B. "The less you remember, the better"
C. "If in your mind's eye you can see and hear an event, say you don't recall"
II. Rehearse questions and answers
A. Question-and-answer script
B. Practice on video and have a consultant coach the witness
C. Have many lawyers in the room to intimidate the witness
III. Tell a witness to "downplay" the number of times a witness and a lawyer met to prepare
IV. Discussing the applicability of law to the events at issue
A. Before you tell me what happened, let me explain the law to you first
B. Before you tell me what happened, let me review the factual context into which your observations will fit
C. Before you tell me what happened, let me tell you other testimony or evidence that will be presented and ask you to reconsider your recollection or recounting of events in that light
V. Suggest a choice of words
VI. Benefits and risks of AI tools to shape testimony
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How does the opinion change the ethics rules?
- What are the ethical limits of working with favorable witnesses and clients in preparing them to give testimony?
- What is the difference between witness preparation and coaching a witness, and how do you draw the lines between them?
- What are the pros and cons of using voice-to-text technology and AI analysis to help witnesses sound better?
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