A Good Lickin'
Podcast - Bring Out the Bad Stuff
Key Discovery Points: ESI Protocol Objection Denial Party
Just Press "Play"
The Journey of Litigation
Podcast - Part II: The Do’s and Don’ts of Demonstratives
Podcast - Persistence and Determination
Podcast - Part I - The Do’s and Don’ts of Demonstratives
Podcast - Walking Tall
Podcast - The Seeds of Corruption
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 316: Spotlight on Torts (Part 1 – Negligence)
Podcast - How Do You Define Success?
Podcast - Seek Out Feedback
The Three C’s for Addressing Prior Inconsistent Statements
Podcast - Part II: Being an Expert Is a Lonely Business
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 313: Spotlight on Criminal Law (Part 3)
Podcast - Part I: Being an Expert Is a Lonely Business
Podcast: Don't Just Say It – Show It
Podcast - Finding Common Ground
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 504: Listen and Learn -- Motions for Judgment as a Matter of Law and Motions for New Trial (Civ Pro)
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
As a litigator, I routinely prepare clients for depositions. A deposition is a pre-trial procedure where a party or witness in a legal case provides sworn testimony outside of a courtroom. A lawyer asks questions of the...more
When I first decided I wanted to become an attorney, I did not think about being in trial. Even in law school, I gave little thought about what it would mean to be in trial. Like a lot of people, my experience with being in...more
Cross-examination is the stuff of drama in fictional courtroom depictions. The savvy lawyer taking on a hostile witness on the stand—these are the moments TV and movie audiences live for. However, the truth is real-life...more
Given how critical depositions are to the legal process, it stands to reason that fair deposition practices are paramount to a legal team’s success. However, several forms of unethical and unfair conduct can emerge during...more
The blog post Turning Deposition No-Shows to the Client’s Advantage proved popular with our readers when written (2021!) and for years afterward. The sustained readership of that article is gratifying but also disappointing...more
The receipt of a notice for a client’s deposition usually sets off a chain reaction of familiar events in most law offices across the country. The deposition is calendared. Materials requested in the notice or accompanying...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
Just what is it that wins a trial case? It’s not a simple matter of providing a bullet list of facts. The subject matter and fine points of evidence can be complex and difficult to follow, and the trial attorneys rarely have...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
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
There’s no denying it—artificial intelligence is changing the legal landscape. Generative AI and the use of machine learning promise to boost efficiency and reduce prep time through multiple phases of litigation. For...more
Dismissal of a lawsuit is a rare sanction for a discovery violation, but it happened recently in a workplace discrimination lawsuit, due in large part to two probing depositions that called into question one party’s assertion...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
Depositions were once an almost exclusively in-person process. In the not-so-distant past, remote depositions were used infrequently, but they became a necessity during lockdowns in 2020. Today, both remote and hybrid...more
If we can do weddings, funerals, healthcare, work, and trials via videoconference, surely we can do the same with depositions. And with that closing remark, a federal magistrate judge summarily dispatched one litigant’s...more
If the word “Shaq” conjures up the image of professional basketball legend and amiable IcyHot liniment pitchman Shaquille O’Neal, you could be missing out on a valuable mnemonic device for preparing witnesses for deposition:...more
An attorney who surreptitiously fed answers to his client – roughly 50 times during a six-hour remote deposition, according to court documents – has been given a public reprimand by the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers....more
For the second time this year, the American Bar Association is offering guidance on how litigators can successfully, and ethically, minimize the occurrence of witness coaching during remote depositions. The ABA’s advice in a...more
Before they swear to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” witnesses need to be prepared for the process and challenges of testifying in a trial, deposition, or other legal proceeding. How you...more
Depositions can be stressful affairs. For many witnesses, depositions are a once-in-a-lifetime plunge into the unknown with a lot riding on their testimony. Sitting in a room full of strangers, listening to lawyers argue over...more
Even today some attorneys approach remote depositions with a small measure of trepidation. They worry that the lack of physical proximity diminishes their ability to engage with the deponent. They wonder how they can...more