Whether you are a board member or an employee of a management company, you may be called to testify in court in response to a subpoena for records or as a witness to events. Here are some practical hints and suggestions on what to do and how to do it well when you are asked to serve as a witness.

BEFORE YOU TESTIFY

1. If you are going to testify concerning records, become familiar with them. You should know what the records contain and be able to refer to them easily if you must do so while you are on the witness stand. In an assessment case, this means you must understand all of the entries (charges, payments and credits) on the ledger and be able to explain them in terms of dates, amounts and reasons for the entries. In a covenant enforcement case, you must be familiar with and understand all correspondence and documents in the file as well as the covenant or rule that has been violated. It may be helpful to make a list showing the chronology of events if there are numerous letters and documents. If you are not generally familiar with your company's procedures for making and keeping these records, find out from your supervisor or owner. You may be asked to authenticate them as records made and kept in the regular course of the company's business.

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