Sunday 12 November 2017

Cross examination - a guest post by Dan Hoadley

I am thrilled to host this guest post from Barrister and law reporter Dan Hoadley. Dan works for the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR) on Chancery Lane. The ICLR are responsible for the official and authoritative law reports used by students, academics and all of the nation's solicitors and barristers every day.


Dan lists his interests as Legal technology, open law and data science. Dan used to write a law blog, alongside his legal writing, but has interests in product development, software design, architecture, music and politics. As he so rightly says "It's good to be interested in lots of different things!" If you want to follow Dan on Twitter, you will find him at: https://twitter.com/DanHLawReporter

Dan was a former City Law School student whose advocacy tutor tells me "he was the most natural advocate I've ever taught" and "his cross examination was the best I've ever seen; he just got it, from the beginning".  Dan is a legal magician, and it is a pleasure to host his practical, perceptive and astute tips on effective cross examination. 


Dan's tips differ from those you find in the typical texts on advocacy, because he gets under the skin of courtroom tactics. Also, he advocates consciously altering your style to avoid predictability. He recognises that the advocate must not only take, but crucially, keep the lead.

Over to you, Dan!


My number one tip for an effective cross-examination is to take your time and resist the urge to rush through it. Taking your time opens up a world of possibilities that you will be deprived of if you rush.

At a basic level, slowing things down gives you more time to listen to the witness and observe their demeanour. You'll have more time to construct your next question and plan your line of questioning in response to what you're hearing and seeing. You'll have more time to check your note and the witness statement.

But at a more advanced level, taking your time gives you the scope to really explore and test the evidence. Cross-examination shouldn't always be a mechanical exchange (although, sometimes tactically it may need to be). You'll know, from thorough preparation, what you expect to achieve with any given witness. But, you can never really know exactly how things are going to pan out in advance.

The devil is in the detail. Give yourself time to deal with it.

A second tip, which worked for me, is to continually monitor and control the rhythm of the exchange with the witness. Break long exchanges of leading closed questions with non-leading questions where it is safe to do so. Changes in rhythm of your questioning can really help maintain your control over the witness and, if necessary, unbalance them if they're sticking in and acclimatising to your style of questioning.


My thanks to Dan for these tips which are the techniques used by high level advocates. He has not covered basics of preparation and questioning here, which would be the bedrock to be built upon before trying these advanced methods. Don't forget that case theory, case analysis and detailed planning of cross examination (including a calculated plan of the risks inherent in your cross examination) must form the basis of your preparation. 

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