See no evil...

Witnesses from hell - every litigator has a story or ten to tell about them.

And now a few of them have been revealed in a survey of 100 solicitors by expert witness trainers Bond Solon.

Among the best were: the witness who answered yes to every question, including 'what's your name?'; the witness (also the claimant) who when exposed in the box as having lied or at least exaggerated in his statement, told the judge that the solicitor had made him do it; 'the one that fainted when lying'; the expert witness who told the court that his evidence depended upon who was paying his fees; the client who denied there had ever been an outside loo to which the opponent had access and whose case collapsed when an independent witness not only confirmed having sat on it but even described the colour of the bowl; and the client who the other side claimed was illiterate and so could not have understood a notice of seeking possession and then proceeded to take the stand, hold the bible aloft and read out the oath from the card.