Helpful Strategies to Prepare and Conduct Investigation Interviews

Course: “Helpful Strategies to Prepare and Conduct Investigation Interviews.”

Date and Time of Course: March 17, 2014, 12:00 noon ET (9:00 am PT).

Event and Location of Course: Webinar.

Cost: Complimentary.

Time Allowance for Course: 1 hour and five minutes (65 minutes).

Summary Description: This webinar will provide guidance to university counsel, athletics compliance administrators, campus administrators and higher-education professionals on identifying and addressing the legal and strategic issues that commonly arise before, during and after an interview (recorded statement) of a witness conducted during an internal investigation. Buckner will apply for continuing legal education credit (CLE) for this event.

Detailed Description: Recent and ongoing regulatory reform and media scrutiny has forced colleges and universities to be more diligent about conducting comprehensive internal investigations when allegations surface. The outcome of an internal investigation witness interview is a function of the interviewer’s preparation, knowledge and performance. An understanding and application of witness interview basics is essential to obtaining favorable information for an internal investigation. However, a lack of planning and knowledge can produce mistakes during a witness interview—errors that can damage the integrity and accuracy of an internal investigation. The webinar will assist investigators with preparing and conducting witness interviews with a review of numerous topics, including: matching interview styles for different investigations; order and location of interviews; interview preparation and strategy; recording and documenting interviews; the interview subject’s attorney; warnings and notices; formulating questions; assessing credibility; and court cases on investigation interviews.

Course Objectives and Benefits: The webinar will provide guidance to university counsel, athletics compliance administrators, campus administrators and higher-education professionals on identifying and addressing the legal and strategic issues that commonly arise before, during and after a witness interview conducted during an internal investigation. Specifically, using a case study and handouts, webinar participants will cover:

•Witness interview strategy and planning

•The role of witness interviews in the investigative process

•Effective interview techniques to obtain the truth in a fair and ethical manner

•The elements of human behavior

•Recognition of truth from deception while using cognitive interviewing techniques

•Conducting credibility assessments.

Course Resources and Materials:

I.             PowerPoint presentation.

II.            Webinar handout.

Course Outline of Activities:

I.             Introduction and workshop overview

II.            Background on Investigation Interviews

III.           Issue One: Interview Scope and Methods for Different Investigations

IV.          Issue Two: Order of Interviews

V.           Issue Three: Location of Interviews

VI.          Issue Four: Preparation

VII.         Issue Five: Recording Interviews

VIII.        Issue Six: The Interview Subject’s Attorney

IX.          Issue Seven: Warnings and Notices

X.           Issue Eight: Obtaining Background Information

XI.          Issue Nine: Macro and Micro Questions

XII.         Issue Ten: Credibility, Accuser/Witness and Target Questions

XIII.        Issue Eleven: Court Cases on Investigation Interviews

XIV.        Questions and Closing

Presenter and Biography: Michael L. Buckner is the shareholder of Buckner, a boutique sports law firm. Mr. Buckner, a licensed attorney, advises organizations on compliance, investigation, ethics, training, and management enhancement issues. Mr. Buckner represents academic institutions before all NCAA committees, including colleges and universities in the enforcement process and secondary schools in the high school review process. Mr. Buckner, as an independent consultant for the NCAA (2006-07), conducted on-site investigative audits of non-traditional and preparatory schools in the United States and Puerto Rico. Mr. Buckner has appeared on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and ESPN’s College Football Live, as well as been quoted in numerous newspapers (including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and Lexington Herald-Leader), as a commentator on NCAA enforcement cases. Mr. Buckner is the author of two books, Athletics Investigation Handbook: A Guide for Institutions and Involved Parties During the NCAA Enforcement Process and The ABCs of Ethics: A Resource for Leaders, Managers, and Professionals. Mr. Buckner is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and all state courts in Florida. Mr. Buckner earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations and social sciences and communication in 1993 from the University of Southern California. He was awarded a law degree in 1996 from Florida State University, where he was a member of the Moot Court team.

Presenter’s Firm: The presenter is employed by Buckner, which is a boutique sports law firm. Buckner works with higher education, high school, Olympic, amateur, professional and corporate clients on sports-related legal, compliance, regulatory and administrative issues showcases our experience in diverse practice areas: internal investigations; NCAA compliance and investigations; state high school association compliance and investigations; risk management; sports drug testing; sports dispute resolution and arbitration; and corporate governance. Buckner is headquartered in the Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida, area. The firm’s street and mailing address is 7771 West Oakland Park Boulevard, Suite 162, Sunrise, Florida 33351-6749. Buckner’s telephone number is 954-941-1844 and facsimile number is 954-941-1846. The law firm’s contact e-mail address is info@bucknersportslaw.com. The law firm website is located at www.bucknersportslaw.com.

Registration Policy: By registering for a Buckner webinar, you are obligated to pay the registration fee and agree to the cancellation and refund policy. Your registration permits you to access the audio portion of the webinar through one telephone line and the visual portion of the event via an online portal. You are permitted to invite guests from your organization to listen and participate in the event. You also can transfer your registration to another person in your organization.

Cancellation Policy: If a webinar is cancelled at the discretion of Buckner, all webinar registration fees will be refunded. Unfortunately, the law firm cannot provide a refund for cancellation by a registrant. Access to the archived version of a webinar, if recorded, is included in the fee for the live broadcast. We cannot always guarantee that a recording can be created.

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Buckner
Telephone: 954-941-1844
E-mail: info@bucknersportslaw.com
Website: www.bucknersportslaw.com
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This communication, including the information presented herein, is not endorsed or presented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Association of College and University Attorneys or its representatives, but is a legal advertisement from the Michael L. Buckner Law Firm (which is not affiliated with the NCAA or NACUA). Any questions concerning this communication or event should be directed to Michael L. Buckner via telephone (954-941-1844) or e-mail (mbuckner@bucknersportslaw.com).

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