Legal Interviewing

Definition:

An interview is a conversation between two or more people here questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the interviewee. Similarly, Legal Interview is a conversation between a lawyer and his client in order to know the facts and information regarding some particular case(s).

Significance:

A legal interview has three key aims:

• establishing an effective relationship with the client
• identifying the nature of the client's problem
• Obtaining enough information from the client to reach a potential solution.

The basics for a legal interview are as follows:

(1) Motivate the Client’s Participation (Develop Rapport through Active Listening): A legal interview often concerns sensitive topics that an individual would not necessarily tell a stranger. Thus, the first step in the interview is developing rapport and motivating the client to talk freely.

The client may be reluctant to reveal information for several reasons. However, Countervailing factors will motivate the client to talk. The client’s desire to resolve the problem favorably may overcome her reluctance to talk. The lawyer can gently bring into play each of these factors. Perhaps most importantly, the lawyer can try to put herself in the position of the client, to really understand and empathize with the client’s problems, and use active listening techniques to reflect back the client’s feelings. For instance:

        Client: “I don’t want to testify in court. It sounds like a bad experience—all those questions, people looking at me—I would probably be so uptight, I’d say the wrong thing.”

        Lawyer: “You feel anxious about getting up on the stand and perhaps embarrassing yourself (Lawyer reflects client’s feelings). Don’t worry. Before the trial we will practice your examination and visit the courtroom where you will testify (lawyer responds to client’s concerns).”

(2)   Use Questioning Techniques Appropriate to Your Purpose (Open-ended, Narrow, Yes-No, Leading Questions):

“The form of the question will dictate the answer.”

                                                (A wise old lawyer)

Open-ended questions encourage the client to talk, and allow her to provide information that the lawyer would not otherwise obtain. Begin interviews with broad, open-ended questions that allow the client to tell her story in her own words. Content free questions avoid skewing the data received. Keep the client talking with prompts like, “What happened next?” and then what?”

In later stages of an interview open-ended questions often do not elicit enough detail and will not stimulate the client’s memory, so you will need to use narrow questions to probe for more information.

Leading questions suggest an answer and thus pose the risk for distorting the client’s answer and promoting unethical behavior by the lawyer (“You saw Bob reach for a gun just before you pulled the trigger, didn’t you?”). Use leading questions only to confirm information provided by the client, or to obtain information that the client may be reluctant to admit. Ex:“I guess you’ve had trouble with the police before.”

(3)   Allow the Client to Tell the Story Initially. The client comes to the interview with crucial information – what brings him to the lawyer, and usually, what result he wants. The lawyer has important information also – knowledge about the law and what facts are relevant given the law. Lawyers tend to use their knowledge to focus on the specifics of the case, and take control before giving the client a chance to tell his whole story. As a result, the client may feel like he never got a chance to tell his story, and the lawyer may fail to understand what the client really wants.

(4)   Structure the Interview: By using the following structure for an interview, the lawyer can ensure that the client has a chance to tell his story:

(a)        Briefly Explain What Will Happen in the Interview.

(b)        Preliminarily Identify the Problem.

(c)        Get a Chronological Overview of the Problem.

(d)        Develop and Verify Theories

(e)        Conclude the Interview.

The benchmark of a good interview is simple: the client will feel that he has consulted an attorney who is a caring human being. These suggestions on building rapport, questioning technique, and structuring the interview can provide a framework for approaching the interview and help you communicate your concern. However, remember that the client will recognize the difference between caring and technique.