Page 213 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

214 Deception at Work

• Speak to the lawyer – in the absence of the suspect – immediately before the interview starts10
and try to agree the ground rules to the effect that he is not a participant, nor a witness as to
fact. His job is to advise the suspect on legal matters and not to argue the case on his behalf
or to impede the course of justice. He is, after all, ‘an Officer of the Court’ and should act
accordingly.

• If you regard his client as a peripheral player, or if there are mitigating factors, do not be
afraid to say so. Clever lawyers will seize upon this and may change sides to support you.

• Try to establish an adult-to-adult transactional relationship with him. If this doesn’t work,
you should consider crossing roles in the interview (see page [xref]) but this is a high-risk
strategy.

• Don’t let the lawyer argue the case in the absence of the suspect but politely point out that
‘your client should answer these questions and make these points, not you’.

• Outline the proposed interview structure, without necessarily revealing all of the ‘key
points’ or your line of questioning. However, you must be fair.

• In the interview, direct all questions to the suspect and concentrate on him – not his lawyer,
unless the latter is being unusually cooperative

Alternatively, you may decide to invite your legal representative to attend the interview and
at least put the transactional roles in balance. However, you should recognize that the prob-
ability of getting to the deep truth varies inversely with the number of people present.

Your principles

A LOW-KEY PROFESSIONAL APPROACH

As we have said it is not necessary to take on a macho, heavy-handed role, packed with tes-
tosterone and Tourette’s syndrome. This is the opposite of what is needed and if such tactics
are used, the result is likely to be a disaster. A quiet, confident, professional, empathetic but
relentless approach is the most effective way of getting to the deep truth. Also never forget that
everything you say and do may be examined in court, in the finest detail and under hostile
cross examination (see Chapter 10 on giving evidence).

Become quietly professional, but relentless
Don’t say or do anything you cannot honestly defend

Some of the questions and responses discussed, especially in Chapter 7, may not suit your
style.

10 Try to make sure he is not able to brief his client on your conversation before the interview starts