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Emma, a claimant, needs to file and serve witness statements on the defendant, John. Emma consults her solicitor, Oliver, and instructs him to draft her witness statement using the facts given to him in their initial interview. Which of the following best describes how Oliver should proceed?

A. Oliver should refuse to draft Emma's statement, as any witness statement filed with the court and served on the opposing party needs to be drafted by the witness themselves to preserve its authenticity.

B. Oliver should proceed to draft Emma's statement, but this should be in Emma's own words as much as possible.

C. Oliver should proceed to draft Emma's statement so that it uses the facts to support each of the criteria that Emma needs to prove to be successful in her cause of action.

D. Oliver should proceed to draft Emma's statement by copying the notes from the initial interview and adding a statement of truth to ensure that the statement is compliant with procedural rules.

E. Oliver should refuse to draft Emma's statement unless she attends a further interview in which the specifics of the case are discussed in greater depth.

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According to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), a witness statement should reflect the witness's own words and account of events. While a solicitor like Oliver can assist in drafting the statement, it must be done in such a way that it remains in the claimant's, Emma's, voice and perspective. This maintains the authenticity and reliability of the statement. Option A is incorrect as solicitors can assist with drafting. Option C refers to drafting a statement of case, not a witness statement. Option D is incorrect as it might breach privilege and does not ensure the statement is in the witness's words. Option E is unnecessary if the initial interview was comprehensive.

Key Point: Witness statements must be in the witness's own words, and solicitors can assist in drafting them, provided they maintain the witness's perspective.

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Civil ProcedureUnit 4Chapter 12

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