Giving evidence

There is a strict rule that a witness who has started giving her evidence must not speak to anyone else about the case until her evidence has finished. Very often there will be a short morning or afternoon break or a lunch break, or even an overnight adjournment, in the course of one particular witness’s evidence. If this happens to you, in theory you can spend the time with your own side as long as you keep conversation to other topics. In practice, everyone’s head will be full of the case and it will be extremely difficult to think of anything else to talk about; much the best course is simply to avoid witnesses and advisers on your side completely until you have finished your evidence.