Online Self-Paced Lay Witness Training
Knowledge, understanding and confidence:
Everything a lay witness needs to effectively deliver their own evidence under cross examination.
439
Hours learning time in the last year
2,728
People reaching their full potential
70 +
Years combined professional experience
Rated 5 stars from other lay witnesses, solicitors and barristers
Gain the Skills and Experience to Deliver your own Evidence with Confidence!
Fully independent and ethical
7 day 100% money back satisfaction guaranteed
Prepared by practising legal professionals
Presented by practising barristers
Trusted by law firms, witnesses and experts
throughout Australia and globally
Who this course will benefit?
Parties to a proceeding who are to be called to give evidence in court
Law firms, barristers and legal teams who have an upcoming trial with witnesses they need to prepare
Companies or other organisations whose staff will be giving evidence (or likely to be giving evidence) at an upcoming hearing
Individual factual witnesses subpoenaed to appear to give evidence in court
Any one who is interested in learning more about the court and evidential processes
Factual Witness Training Outcomes
Following this course, you will:
Understand the court and trial process
Understand the role of a lay witness
Develop knowledge of the expectations of lay witnesses giving evidence
Develop knowledge of the characteristics of a good factual witness
Achieve recognition and awareness of common cross examination techniques used by barristers against witnesses
Develop and implement strategies to effectively respond to such techniques
See the practical application and implementation of these during mock cross examinations
What does the course cover?
This lay witness familiarisation course is broken down into a series of 10 short modules each covering a series of topics relevant to lay witnesses when being cross examined in court.
The total course run time is about 3 hours, plus preparation and coursework.
Independently prepared and presented by practising legal professionals.
Check out the below for a free course outline and samples of the training.
Module 1 – Introduction to witness familiarisation
- Legal and Ethical Obligations
- For Lawyers
- For Loquitur and Our Instructors
- For Witnesses
- During Witness Training
Duration – 4.05 min
- Purpose of Trial
- The Court Itself
- Steps to Trial
- As a Witness
- Types of Witnesses
- Lay Witnesses
- Expert Witnesses
- Some Practical Points for Witnesses
- Witness Preparation
Duration – 15.46 min
- Being Called
- Phases of Witness Examination
- Examination in Chief
- Cross-Examination
- Re-Examination
- Judge’s Interventions
- General Tips on the Delivery of Evidence
- How Advocates Prepare to Cross Examine a Witness
Duration – 32.35 min
- Closed Questions
- Interruptions
- Undermining a Witness
- Luring you Beyond Your Knowledge or Expertise
- Inciting an Argument
- “Closing the Gate” – The Logical Snare
- Charm Offensive
- Dorothy Dixers
- Uncomfortable Silence
- Rapid Fire
- Reasonable Practice
Duration – 29.54 min
Boxing in the Witness
Duration – 5.54 min
Witness Concessions and Open Textured Standards
Duration – 10.28 min
A Charm Offensive Turned Nasty, and Be Wary of Evasive Mantras
Duration – 22.03 min
Dealing with Awkward Facts, and What Would a “Reasonable and Prudent” Person Do?
Duration – 25.42 min
Careful or Cagey? And Making Barristers Work!
Duration – 9.04 min
“There is No Basis on Your Evidence for That Assertion” and Some Final Observations
Duration – 19.49
Bonus support and materials
- Ongoing support for any queries you might have
- Discounts on live, in-person and in-house training offerings, and bespoke tailored offerings where appropriate.
- Access to our detailed scenario training materials
Note this course does not cover the specific details of your legal claim nor the details of your evidence. We are legally and ethically prohibited from discussing this with you – that is for your legal team and we do not and cannot give legal advice.
Join the 1000s of others who have benefited from our training
"A must as part of any trial prep"
JH - Partner, NSW
“All was clear and very useful. Thanks for such a useful meeting.”
NM, Lay Witness, Poland
“I liked [the] rather informal approach, we were distressed by upcoming hearings and presenter was able to calm me down”
AM, Lay Witness
“Fabulous – Really Valuable.”
MJ, Expert Witness and Company Director, QLD
“Fantastic service. We really appreciated the short turn-around time which was most impressive”
NS, Senior Associate, Sydney
"Innovative and practical"
PB - Practice Principal, NSW
“Everyone seemed to appreciate it. The role play was fun.”
AW, Expert Witness (Psychologist), Victoria
“probably the most enthused and animated I’ve seen this particular bunch for some time!”
Chief Commercial Officer, Expert Witness Agency
"Our client was successful in its defence and the witness went much better than if he had not received the witness training."
MK, Lawyer, NSW
“The training afforded good insight into the Psycho/legal nexus.”
Psychologist, Melbourne
“very professional and showcased great expertise in the expert witness space and we all gained great insight into the expert/ cross-examination process.”
Forensic Accountant, Sydney
“Overall it was extremely informative and the presenter was very knowledgeable and conveyed the information in a very easy to comprehend manner.”
Public Servant, Sydney
“It was very helpful to have this presented by a solicitor to understand the requirements of a witness (clinical or expert) and for reports, as well as their role in the process."
Health Professional, Melbourne
“The knowledge of the presenter was apparent in his delivery of the content. He was clear in his explanations and engaging throughout."
Management Executive, NSW
“No particular single highlight - overall it was extremely informative and the presenter was very knowledgeable and conveyed the information in a very easy to comprehend manner.”
Professional witness, Queensland
“The mock trial example illustrated well what the speaker was saying and it was interesting.”
Executive, Melbourne
“Clear explanations and clear slides that are easy to refer back to, covering all aspects of the expert witness process”
Expert Witness, New Zealand
When should you do this course?
Ideally this course should be done about two months before any trial date is listed.
If the course is done too far in advance of the trial date there is a risk that the matter will settle. By doing closer to the trial date this risk can be mitigated.
Doing this course about two months before the trial date will allow the witness to more deeply consider their own evidence in the context of the case, and will allow the witness and their legal team to more thoroughly prepare the witness in respect of that witness’ own evidence.
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Factual Witness Training Pricing
The cost for the course is $585 + GST (where applicable) per witness.
All bookings have the benefit of our 7-day 100% money back guarantee – no questions asked. Try now, you have nothing to lose.
If of interest, check out the free samples of our courses, above. You can be sure of what you are getting.
Group discounts are available, as are corporate/organisation/law firm discounts for regular users – please contact us to discuss pricing.
About Loquitur
Loquitur is Australia’s leading witness familiarisation and witness training organisation. We offer a series of courses to all witnesses across all jurisdictions on how to effectively deliver their own evidence.
Crucially, we are completely independent. We are not involved in your proceedings and are thus best placed to offer rigorous, ethical training.
As part of our training offerings we noticed one service was decidedly lacking – an online, self-paced course for lay witnesses to better understand the fundamentals, complexities and practicalities of the delivery of evidence to Court.
And that is why we worked with a series of practising solicitors and barristers to develop and present our online lay witness training course – to take the uncertainties out of the court process and to better allow witnesses the chance to express their own evidence in Court under cross Examination
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Live, bespoke and in-house training options for groups of experts and companies/organisations. Engage in tailored expert witness training to refine your employee’s skills across all aspects of the evidential process. These programs ensure expert witnesses are best placed to provide evidence, to the credit of themselves, and their organisations or employers.
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Specifically designed for public servants, health professionals, local councils and emergency services personnel. This live and bespoke in house witness preparation training enhances your employee’s ability to give, collect, and prepare evidence, ensuring effectiveness in all legal contexts - including courts, subpoenas, and tribunals.
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Loquitur offers a free CPD training video for expert witnesses, focusing on cross-examination skills. This witness training video provides practical insights and techniques to help you deliver your testimony confidently and effectively under cross-examination. This CPD also considers ethical considerations for experts and their legal teams in expert witness preparation.
Professional ethics CPD for legal practitioners
Loquitur offers a free CPD witness training video to all legal practitioners, focusing on legal ethics. This video covers the key concepts and ethical considerations of witness proofing, preparation, and coaching. It includes discussions on ethical practice rules, real case examples, and a mock cross-examination, offering practical guidance on ethically preparing witnesses.
Expert witness report template
Utilize our expert witness report template to create clear and professional reports. This template offers a structured guide and best practices, ensuring your documentation is consistent and credible. Ideal for both new and experienced expert witnesses.
FAQs
What is the total course duration?
Can I re-watch and review parts of the course or specific modules?
How long will I have access to the course for?
How much does the lay witness training cost?
When should the course be undertaken?
Is this course suitable for witnesses in non-Australian proceedings?
Yes, it is. While we obviously focus on the Australian legal system, the fundamentals of evidence and cross examination are similar across many jurisdictions, including in particular other common law jurisdictions such as the US, England and Wales / UK, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as international arbitrations. Witnesses from those jurisdictions will still get great benefit from undertaking the factual witness training course.
Is Loquitur independent?
Who prepares and presents the lay witness training?
Are costs recoverable in the proceedings?
This is subject to local Rules and the Court, although arguably yes as such preparation is recoverable given that it is necessary and proper for the conduct of the litigation. Furthermore, similar courses in other common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales) are also recoverable.
Is the factual witness training ethical?
Is this course suitable for expert witnesses?
What is the aim of this course?
Does this replace witness preparation I will do with my legal team?
Can I discuss my actual evidence with you?
Are discounts pricings available for groups?
Are corporate/law firm access packages available?
How does the 7-day 100% money back guarantee work?
Can I sample the course material for free?
How do training courses help a legal team prepare for trial?
Interested to see how we could help?
Interested to see how we could help?
Call our head office: (02) 8231 6661
Email us at: [email protected]
Contact us using the form below. We will get back to you within 4 business hours.
