Top ten tips for giving evidence remotely

​Due to the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent restrictions, in the last seven months remote hearings have become the norm. As we enter our second national lockdown, EWI has offered some practical advice and tips for participating in cases virtually.

1. Follow professional body advice on whether a face to face consultation should occur over a virtual assessment. And be sure to mention in the report if you feel the modified consultation impacted the assessment to avoid being cross-examined about how the context may have affected your findings.
    
2. Prior to the hearing, you may want to invest in some additional technology. To enhance the audio quality, it may be worth purchasing a microphone as this picks up less background noise than the microphone built into your laptop.
    
3. The use of an additional monitor may be beneficial so that you would be able to give your presentation whilst having the ability to view the case file on the second screen.
    
4. There is not an official platform that courts use for remote hearing so make sure you have the right link, and if you have any doubts you can request a test hearing.
    
5. When giving evidence remotely speak slower than you would otherwise. It is often harder to keep concentration during a remote hearing so speaking slowly would help you maintain impact when giving evidence.
    
6. During a hearing make sure any means of communication you use are secure and private to ensure confidentiality and privilege are preserved.
    
7. Remember that court proceedings apply even though you are in your own home/environment and that contempt of court and the usual provisions apply.
    
8. It is often the case you will receive an electronic court bundle, however, sometimes you will be sent a paper bundle, either way, it is important that you have the same bundle as the judge.
    
9. You must not, under any circumstances, record the hearing. You will receive a transcript of the hearing.
    
10. As an expert witness, you may be called into court so if you are vulnerable/shielding you can make an application to the court proving you are unable to travel to give evidence.

The following advice has been obtained from the EWI conference session entitled ‘Covid-19: How the Pandemic shaped the role of technology in the courts’ given by Amanda Pinto QC (Chair of the Bar Council 2020) and Sarah Crowther QC (Vice-Chair Personal Injury Bar Association). If you want to find out more about the session and giving evidence remotely click here.