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When Your Witness Is a Former Employee

By Linda L. Listrom
October 29, 2008

It's Monday morning. You are sitting at your desk sipping your third cup of coffee and reading your e-mails when you learn that your company has been sued. Later, as you flip through the pages of the complaint, you discover to your dismay that one of your key witnesses will be a vice president who left the company three years ago. You have not spoken to him since.

In an era when employees change jobs frequently, your most important witness is often a former employee. At best, a former employee may be ambivalent toward your company. At worst, he or she may be downright hostile. Should you contact a former employee? If so, what should you tell him? You may need his cooperation, but the ethics rules limit what you can do to obtain it.

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