Remote Depositions
Considerations for taking, defending, and preparing for a remote deposition, including technology challenges, ethical issues, handling exhibits, and prepping a witness for the remote format.
Tips for Taking a Deposition
Tips and strategies for taking a deposition, including starting the deposition off right, asking questions effectively, dealing with a difficult witness or opposing counsel, and ending the deposition well.
Deposition Witness Prep: Explaining Mechanics and Strategy
Discussion of how to conduct a witness prep meeting, focusing on making the witness comfortable with how the deposition will work, explaining how depositions differ from ordinary conversation, and giving the witness tips on how to answer questions.
Deposition Witness Prep: Reviewing Facts and Documents
Discussion of how to conduct a witness prep meeting, focusing on preparing the witness for the substantive aspect of the deposition—reviewing the substantive topics and potential exhibits with the witness, and conducting mock questioning.
Deposition Witness Prep: Ethical Issues
Discussion of ethical rules and obligations about influencing the witness’s testimony and strategies to navigate this important ethical issue.
Reviewing Your Transcript
The importance of reviewing your transcript after the deposition, things to look for, and how to learn from your mistakes.
Final Checklist for Taking a Deposition
Checklist of things to confirm, bring and know before taking a deposition.
Deposition Objections
Discusses the standard objections and when they would be used, objection procedure and different rules on speaking objections.
Defending a Deposition
Discussion of the role of the defending lawyer, ways to protect the witness, rules on counseling the witness during the deposition, correcting testimony, and re-direct.
Defending a Corporate Deposition
Strategies and procedures for defending a corporate witness, including what to do when your witness doesn’t know the answer, questions outside the scope of topics, and rehabilitating the witness through re-direct.
Asking Good Deposition Questions
In-depth look at effective deposition questioning, including open versus closed questions, the funnel approach, strategies for getting admissions, cross-examination, and testing case theories.
Tips for Creating a Useful Record
Strategies and tips for asking questions and getting testimony that is clear and usable after the deposition.
Common Mistakes in Deposition Questioning
A look at common missteps when taking a deposition, and how to avoid those mistakes in your questioning.
Deposition Erratas
Rules about correcting the transcript, the format and content of an errata sheet, and procedure for preparing an errata sheet and signing the deposition transcript.
Taking a Corporate Deposition
Strategies, rules, and procedures when taking a corporate deposition, and obtaining information responsive to a deposition topic.
Drafting a Corporate Deposition Notice
Examination of a corporate deposition notice and drafting tips.
Confidentiality Designations in Depositions
Discussion of different requirements in protective orders for confidentiality designations in deposition transcripts and the process of reviewing a transcript and designating material confidential.
Preparing Documents for Deposition
Discussion of the process of reviewing and selecting documents for depositions.
Using Exhibits in Depositions
Procedure for proper marking of exhibits, useful questions about exhibits, strategies for selecting documents to mark as exhibits, and common mistakes with exhibits.
Deposition Notices and Subpoenas
Procedure for noticing or subpoenaing a deposition, examples of a deposition notice and subpoena, and the process of scheduling depositions.
Preparing a Corporate Deposition Witness
Rules and tips for selecting the corporate witness; how a corporate witness’s role differs from a fact witness; assembling materials for corporate witness prep; reviewing the topics with the witness; and tips for reviewing the topics and practicing Q&A with a corporate witness.
Drafting a Deposition Outline
Detailed how-to of the process of drafting a deposition outline, with practical tips and examination of examples.
Responding to a Corporate Deposition Notice
How to respond to a corporate deposition notice, including the different objections, coordinating a response with your client, and how to handle the meet-and-confer process with opposing counsel.