Interviewing & Investigating: Essential Skills for the Legal Professional, Fifth Edition (Aspen College)

Interviewing and Investigating delivers a strong foundation in skills as well as the civil, criminal, and non-litigation context in which they are used. The practical emphasis throughout the text encourages students to learn by doing. The author brings almost thirty years of experience as a practitioner and teacher to bear, showing students the critical connection between law and fact, the best ways to engage in effective analysis, and the essentials of good communication skills. Well-crafted pedagogy in every chapter helps students apply the principles under review: illustrations, examples, hypotheticals, and Learn by Doing exercises. Examples are drawn from a variety of both civil and criminal, litigation and non-litigation scenarios. A key chapter on ethical issues and related material throughout the book emphasizes the professional standards expected of the paralegal. Four case studies designed to be used with the Learn by Doing exercises in each chapter provide realistic scenarios for applying concepts. Useful appendices provide resources, including extensive information on online assistance for investigators.

Thoroughly updated, the revised Fifth Edition presents:

• new Learn by Doing and Sleuth on the Loose features
• more than a dozen new cases
• references to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure brought into compliance with the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011
• references to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and to the Federal Rules of Evidence updated to the latest amendments approved by Congress
• Foundations for Interviewing and Investigating expanded material on personal and subject matter jurisdiction in civil cases, venue, and alternative dispute resolution in greater detail with new Examples and Illustrations
• coverage of the Federal Rules of Evidence expanded with Examples, particularly in connection with the hearsay rule and its exceptions
• discussion of continuing changes in communication technology
• chapters dealing with federal rules of civil and criminal procedure and evidence direct students to online sites for current versions of the rules, rather than appendices Resources for the Investigator appendix more comprehensive and practical than ever before