- 26Jul2016
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If You Don’t Know the Answer, Then That’s Your Answer
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As the question hangs in the air, you can see the tension working on the witness. Her face screws up, she looks at the ceiling, tenses her shoulders, and delays. As you call for a time-out in the preparation session, the witness blurts out, “What should I say? I don’t know the answer!”
- 21Jul2015
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What Do You Do When the Witness Stalls in a Deposition?
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In a deposition, it’s common practice to show a witness a document and give them a moment to review it. Often the deposing lawyer will ask if they’re familiar with that particular document. In most instances, the witness will flip through the document and within 10-15 seconds state whether they’ve seen it before.
- 09Jun2015
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20 Tips for Attorneys Working with Interpreters
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Working as an international journalist often means interviewing people with whom you don’t share a common language. Even if you spend months or years studying a language, you may be better off using a trained interpreter, who can translate not just the words but the nuances of what your source is saying.
- 05May2015
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Deposing an Expert Witness – 6 Tips For Success
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Worried about deposing an opponent’s expert? Don’t be. With plenty of preparation and the right strategy you can flush out a weak expert well before your case goes to trial. We’ve rounded up some tips from top litigators and legal advisers around the country to help you make the right moves during this crucial phase of your case.
- 01Feb2014
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101: Deposition Techniques: Get Your Ducks in a Row
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Explain the process. Follow your outline. Listen to the witness. Be curious. Don’t be deterred by objections. Keep your cool. These and other tips for successfully deposing lay and expert witnesses are culled from the authors’ many years of experience and varied practice areas.
- 01Oct2013
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How Does A Lawyer Prepare To Take A Deposition?
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One of my most popular posts among lawyers is “Be A Potted Plant: Sanctions For Deposition Coaching and Witness Conferences,” which talks about how to defend a deposition in federal court, or, rather, how a lawyer should not defend a deposition of their client by acting like a fool at the deposition and interposing speaking objections.
- 01Jan2013
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Preparing Your Deponent for Sound-Bite Questions
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“Does your company, manufacturer XYZ, have ethical considerations in the design of its products?” “Does ABC Hospital care about the safety of its patients?” “Was it important to your company that African-American employees not be harassed because of their race?” Of course,
- 01Feb2011
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Why Preparing Clients for Deposition is Like Making Pancakes
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What is the one HUGE secret for making fluffy pancakes that rise like they should, as opposed to those paper thin, dense duds devoid of any texture or sponginess? And, by the way, as a long time weekend pancake slinger, this secret applies to homemade recipes (my usual choice) all the way down to the instant “just add water”
- 01Apr2010
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Appropriate Objections in a Deposition
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Have you ever taken a deposition and had your opponent continually assert inappropriate objections? One after the other: “Irrelevant” “hearsay” “assumes facts not in evidence,” “calls for an opinion.” Obnoxious, isn’t it? Or worse yet, an attorney makes speaking objections blatantly designed to coach the witness,
- 01Feb2010
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Preparing Your Client for Deposition
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Defending your client’s deposition can be a nerve-wracking, sweaty armpit experience. At the end of the day, a weak performance or just one poor answer can sink a case. But even with stakes this high, most lawyers do not spend enough time preparing the client to testify.
- 01Jan2010
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When and How to Object During a Deposition
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(Please note: this article focuses on Maryland law and the information shouldn’t be assumed for other states.) In civil litigation, objection-free depositions are unheard of. Attorneys pepper the transcripts with interruptions. In truth, though, they often make unnecessary objections or fail to make them properly.
- 01Sep2008
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15 Deposition Techniques for Medical Malpractice Cases
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QUESTIONS TO ASK: Preparation is the entire key to a doctor’s deposition and you must spend countless hours reviewing the entire file, reviewing all the medical records, notes and entries in the chart. You also must know and review your theory of liability,
- 11Nov2007
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Deposition Tips: More Than a Refresher
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The Basics Taking depositions is easy. A wizened trial lawyer once told me, “Just ask a lot of questions.” In a loose sense, he’s right. But if you’ve never taken or attended a deposition there are some things that seem obvious to a veteran lawyer but which the novice lawyer doesn’t necessarily appreciate.