The attorney should contact the juvenile and conduct an initial interview as soon as possible after entering the case. The initial interview should be private, without the parents. After concluding the 'ice breaking phase' of the interview, the attorney should explain to the juvenile in concrete terms the attorney's role and relationship with the juvenile, followed by an explanation of how the interview is to be conducted. The juvenile should be given an opportunity to react to the procedure. The information-gathering portion of the interview should begin with a simple open-ended question that elicits a narrative discussion of facts pertinent to the case. Silences and pauses must be tolerated even more than with an adult. Attorney negative reactions to what the juvenile says must be avoided. The attorney should be aware of the juvenile's nonverbal communication. Questions by the attorney should be directed at specifics. The checklist accompanying this article details the social data which should be obtained from the juvenile early in the process.