Podcast - Bring Out the Bad Stuff
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 318: Quick Tips -- The Final Two-Week Bar Exam Countdown
Preparing for Deposition Success
How to Prevent Executives from Saying the Wrong Thing When Testifying
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 328: Listen and Learn -- Expert vs. Lay Witness Testimony (Evidence)
Law Brief®: Michael Grudberg, Robert Heim and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Theranos Verdict
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 138: Listen and Learn -- Hearsay Exceptions: Prior Testimony and Past Recollection Recorded
Devil in the Details: Gilbert King on Truth and Transparency in the Judicial Process
Podcast - Rule 4: Be a Relentlessly Polite Witness
Podcast - Rule 2: Remember, You Are On The Record
Podcast - Rule 1: Witness, Take Your Time
Three Witness Excuses to Avoiding Preparing
Testifying, whether in a deposition or in trial, can feel pretty threatening. Particularly if you’re a named defendant in a lawsuit, you know you’re going to be the target. But even when you’re on the other side, or you’re an...more
Thorough preparation of the deposition witness is critical to successful deposition practice. Prior to the deposition, the witness should be advised how and when to respond to questioning, the roles of counsel and the court...more
In civil litigation, depositions are a key pretrial discovery tool used to uncover facts, obtain admissions, gather evidence for motions, and assess witnesses. They prevent “trial by ambush” by revealing crucial information...more
Nearly 150 years after Miles Bartholomew introduced the first shorthand machine, the various technologies and tools utilized to record court proceedings and legal matters continue evolving. Today, realtime deposition...more
When preparing for trial, depositions play a foundational role, critical to the discovery phase. After the deposition, having a succinct, accurate deposition summary is a strategic component of developing and refining case...more
Michael Cohen, the “Fixer” for Donald Trump, has recently gotten off the stand in the former President’s “hush money” trial. Those taking aim at Cohen’s testimony have pointed out frequent use of “I don’t recall” on many of...more
With the COVID pandemic, remote video depositions and trial testimony very quickly went from rare to routine. Remote testimony, for the most part, is viewed as a convenience to both witnesses and attorneys, and parties and...more
The testimony given at a deposition vs. testimony during a trial have a lot in common. They’re both sworn under oath, under penalty of perjury, and part of official court records. There’s a longer list, however, of how they...more
It is not uncommon in litigation for parties to introduce testimony through depositions taken for use at trial. It is very uncommon, though, for a party to request to use their own deposition testimony as their trial...more
Though typically conducted in a conference room, a deposition can take place in many locations and through a variety of methods. So long as you capture a verbatim record, either face-to-face or remotely through the use of...more
As a litigator, my first legal position was as a Navy JAG, handling cases first as a defense attorney, then as a prosecutor. Since leaving from the Navy, my practice has focused on patent litigation. But I’ve never had an...more
After the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world in early 2020, many industries pivoted to conducting business in ways that reduced or eliminated face-to-face interactions. Fortunately, with internet capability generally...more
The number of remote legal proceedings hit a peak a few years back, but the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency doesn’t mean a reversal to pre-pandemic logistics. While they can have some drawbacks, virtual...more
No other pretrial discovery process rivals the deposition for its ability to alter the course of civil litigation. Depositions alone bring litigators face-to-face with key witnesses, experts, and the parties themselves in a...more
As every trial attorney knows, there are many strategies for cross examining a witness. Among the most effective is confronting a witness with their previous deposition testimony. Nothing beats an opportunity to use their own...more
Most litigators have at least a passing familiarity with the "sham affidavit" doctrine, under which an affidavit submitted in opposition to summary judgment that without explanation flatly contradicts the affiant's prior...more
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure liberally enable parties to seek relevant information in discovery that may be helpful in the preparation and trial of a case. While the liberal scope of discovery permitted by the...more
If you remember even a few images from kindergarten, you probably remember the time when your teachers would lay out the mats — that was the cue that it is naptime. One might say that the similar cue in a courtroom is when...more
Kyle Rittenhouse, the then-minor charged with killing two and wounding a third at a protest in Kenosha Wisconsin in the Summer of 2020, took the stand in his own defense at his trial yesterday. The case is a kind of litmus...more
When preparing a witness, there can sometimes be a strong impulse to say, “Just answer the question.” That impulse comes from an appropriate desire to keep things simple, and to keep the witness from wandering or waffling....more
The government often plays a background role in civil litigation. An action, decision, or product from one party might meet the government’s regulations, for example. The question that raises is “Are the regulators trusted?”...more
From a technological standpoint, it is now relatively simple to present live video and audio testimony during a court proceeding of a witness located anywhere in the world. There are many advantages to presenting testimony in...more