My father’s firm once had a litigious client.

She was in her late thirties or early forties when I was first acquainted with her. I was a few years into my practice. She was beautiful. She was also fiercely intelligent, aggressive and articulate. She was corporate-savvy and ran several businesses she owned.

Since it was litigation, it meant my immediate boss dealt with her. And since my immediate boss dealt with her, I was on all her cases. And she had many cases with us. The reason for that was she liked to ‘go legal’, which was her favourite phrase.

‘Datin, company X said they need more time and are asking for 3 months to settle.’ ‘They always for more time but never pay. Go legal.’

‘Datin, the forensic report showed [staff] embezzled a substantial sum of company Y’s money.’ ‘I knew it. Go legal. Civil and criminal.

‘Datin, about the shareholder dispute in Company Z, I think….’ ‘Go legal. Sue all of them!’

As a result of her litigious nature, within a couple of years of working with her, we had numerous cases of hers making their way through the courts. Many of her cases were originating summons cases. That meant the matter was resolved by way of affidavits. She only had to appear before the Commissioner for Oaths to sign her affidavit. After that, she left the matter in our care. There was no trial. Or even if there was, often there was no need for her to attend it.

There were, however, a few cases that involved her as a witness. The first of them was due in a few months. It was a corporate dispute. The case took a few years before it came up for trial. Before that, there were several hard-fought applications that we successfully overcame to reach trial. That meant our client had to attend court as a witness for her cases.

It was at this point that I discovered a different side to our client’s personality.

In preparation for the trial, we prepared a draft witness statement for her and sent it to her for feedback. The practice of witness statements was not yet mandatory but we thought it was good practice and helpful to the client to have one prepared. I sent her a draft witness statement well in advance as I knew she was usually busy.

Despite the weight of her work, she always responded quickly. This time, however, unusually, she was slow to respond. Even though my boss usually dealt with her directly, over the years and cases, I dealt and directly engaged with her to the point there was a casual informality between us. Despite the gap in age and status, I felt I could speak openly and directly with her. That was something I appreciated about her. For all her wealth and status, she was down-to-earth and carried no airs about her.

‘Uncle Izzat, what’s going on with Datin’s witness statement? It’s been two weeks since I sent it to her. She hasn’t gotten back to us. The trial is coming up in two weeks too.’

‘Ha? That’s unusual.’

‘Yeah. It’s unusual.’

‘I don’t know. I haven’t seen her lately. Why don’t you follow up with her?’

So I did.

‘Hi, Datin. Fahri here. How are you?’

‘Fine. Fine. Yourself?’

‘I’m good, Datin. I am calling to follow up about that draft witness statement I sent you about two wee…’

‘Yeah. Yeah. I received it. I saw it. Eh, Fahri.’ Suddenly she dropped her voice. ‘Do I really have to be a witness ah?’

‘Uhm. Yah. Of course, Datin. You are the one that conducted the transaction. You were the one that issued the letters against the Defendants. You are also the best person to have as a witness because you know the entire situation inside out.’

‘Oh is it?’

‘Of course. You are our star witness, Datin.’

There was a silence on her end. I felt I said the wrong thing.

‘What about Halim? He was also there.’

‘Yah, well, Datin. Halim was not the decision maker. He just ikut only. He was not at the crucial meetings. You were. He is not the brains behind the business. You are.’

Silence again.

‘You know, Fahri. I have never been a witness in a trial before. If I can be honest, I am scared to be a witness.’

That was a revelation to me: That she had never been a witness in a legal proceeding despite being litigious. The other revelation was: That this beautiful, fiercely intelligent, aggressive and articulate lady was scared of being a witness.

‘What if they asked me questions I cannot anticipate or don’t know the answer to? What if they ask me questions that make me look bad or embarrass me? What if they ….’

‘Datin. Datin. Calm down. Calm down. Look. Let me…’

‘I don’t want to be a witness, Fahri. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be in a box where they can ask me all kinds of things and I cannot respond. I cannot respond, right? They can say anything and I cannot respond.

‘Whoa. Wait. Wait. What do you mean cannot res…’

‘I think we withdraw the claim lah, Fahri. I don’t think I can do this. Just thinking about it gets me stressed. I don’t want to be a witness. I don’t…

‘HANG ON DATIN. Sorry. Just hang on a second. Please. Sorry. Sorry to raise my voice there. But just please allow me an opportunity to respond. Please? Just calm down a moment. Let me speak. Three minutes. Just hear me out. Please?’

‘Okay. What is it?’

‘Look. I hear you and empathise. I get it. You are afraid to be a witness. You are afraid you are going to get whacked with all kinds of questions by the other side’s lawyer. I hear you. But Datin, let me put this into perspective for you. If we withdraw the claim now, the Defendants get the company. They get the company you built with your blood, sweat and tears. They win with a walkover. And all the litigation we had to go through these past three years? Down the toilet. Complete waste of money. Let me remind you also how frustrating and challenging it was to get through all those applications. After all that, Datin, we are now going to hand it to them! Without even a fight? If you are ready to give that all up, okay, fine. You should have just given them the company from the start. Then we wouldn’t have wasted all that time, effort and money. We are going to give all that up because you don’t dare get in the witness box. Do you see how crazy this sounds?’

I heard her sigh on the other side of the line.

‘I know. I just can’t shake this fear about what they can do to me in the witness box. I just want it to be over.’

‘That’s fair, Datin. Very fair. But let me tell you, most people who come as witnesses have that same fear. It is natural to have that fear. It’s a human thing. But it is just questions they ask and you answer. That’s all. They cannot hit you, insult you, shout at you and all that. They cannot harm you. They cannot. It’s court. And most people who come as witnesses are not as formidable as you, Datin. You are intelligent, articulate, beautiful and you know your stuff. Most times, I have to work with far less. And many do just fine. So please give yourself some credit. And please know that by my estimation, I have every confidence you will do well as a witness.

‘You’re just saying that, Fahri.’

‘No, I’m not. You didn’t pay me for compliments, just to do your case.’

She chuckled.

‘Now, coming back to that draft witness statement we sent you. Please take a look at it. We prepared it based on what you told us. It’s supposed to give you confidence about what you are going to say in court. Please check to see if the facts are correct and whether it sounds like you. That’s your compass. When you are lost, you can refer to it. So please go through it carefully and thoroughly and give us your feedback.’

‘What if they ask me something that’s not in the witness statement that I don’t know? What do I say?’

‘Keep it simple, Datin. In court, you just come and speak about what you know to be true. That’s all. If you don’t know then you don’t know. If you are not sure, you are not sure. If you cannot remember, you cannot remember. Don’t make stuff up. Don’t speculate. Don’t assume things. Just stick to what you know and you will be fine. Keep it simple like that. And remember, all you need to know is already in your head. You know the contracts, you know the deals, you know the facts. You know it all, Datin. You are just lacking confidence, not substance.’

‘Okay. Okay. Fine. What if they ask me stupid questions or insulting questions?’

‘We will be there to ensure that they ask appropriate questions only. So you won’t be alone, Datin. If they ask inappropriate ones, we will object to it. They can only ask relevant questions; relevant to the case facts. The other side cannot ask irrelevant questions. Those can be objected to as well. So we will be there to make sure that the proceedings go smoothly and that you are protected. That’s why I want to tell you don’t worry. We will be there.’

After a pause, she responded.

‘Fine. I will be a witness. But if they bash me up as a witness ah Fahri, you are going to get the same from me! I am going to bash you like they did me.’

‘I have no worries about that lah, Datin. Bring it on.’

‘I hope I have your confidence on the day of the trial. Okay, let me look at the draft and then get back to you. When is the trial again?’

‘It’s in two weeks, Datin. I gave you the date a few months ago and you told me you would block it out.’

‘Yes, yes. Okay. It’s here. So just look at the draft and give my feedback?’

‘Yes. And before the trial, please go through the bundle of documents we sent to your office and familiarize yourself with them. They are all documents you have seen before. Whatever documents you will be referred to will be in those bundles of documents. So please study them and try to recall as much as you can about them.’

‘Anything else?’

‘No. That’s it.’

On the day of the trial, despite the initial awkwardness and guardedness in her answers at the beginning of her cross-examination, our client grew in stature as the cross went on. She was thoroughly prepped as I expected her to be. She was in full command of the facts, the documents and her evidence. She was her sharp, intelligent, articulate and aggressive self. She ended her cross-examination in far better shape than the lawyer that crossed her. I had the pleasure of declining her re-examination.

She came over to me after she climbed off the witness stand and the case was adjourned for the day.

‘How did I do, Fahri? Okay?’

‘I thought you were fantastic, Datin. Poised. Articulate. Unshaken. The other side had a tough time. If I didn’t know any better, I thought you were a regular in the witness box.’

‘I have to say. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.’

‘See? That’s what I was trying to tell you the other day. It was all in your mind.’

‘I know. I know. I feel so silly now when I think back to how I got so worked up about it. To think I was going to withdraw the case. Crazy! You know, the funny thing is, I found the whole thing quite enjoyable! All I had to ensure was make sure I recalled everything as best I could and the rest took care of itself! It was surprisingly easy.’

‘I am glad you think so, Datin.’

‘Now, I definitely feel more confident and pumped up for our other cases! So, when are our other cases? Can I be a witness in those cases too?’