Elizabeth Holmes’s Lawyer Pokes at Whistle-Blower, Delicately

A lawyer for Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes sought to undercut the testimony of a former employee turned whistle-blower by emphasizing how far down the company hierarchy she was from the boss.

But defense attorney Lance Wade had his work cut out for him trying to poke holes in Erika Cheung’s explosive claims that the blood-testing startup deceived patients and regulators with an approach so crude in how it shoved aside basic scientific norms that it jeopardized patient health.

Holmes, 37, is fighting a dozen counts of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly lying to patients and investors about the ...