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Podcast - “I Lied Like a Dog!”
Podcast - "Ready for Trial?"
Podcast - Every Case Is a New World
The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Tell Your Story
Podcast - Getting Dressed for Court
Podcast - The Witness Outline
Cross-Examination: The Three C’s of Impeachment
Cross-Examination: How to Effectively Impeach with a Prior Inconsistent Statement
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Don't Argue - Elicit Facts
Podcast - Direct Examination: Getting Rid of Clutter
The Basics of Opening Statements
Exuding Credibility in the Courtroom
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 233: Listen and Learn -- Impeachment (Part 2)
The Strategic Advantages of Working with Jury Consultants – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 56
Witness Testimony Themes, Cross Examination, & Preparation Consultants – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 55
Witness Prep Goals, Credibility Factors, & Juror Comprehension – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 54
Podcast - Finding the Balance
Podcast - A Tortured Journey with the Lying Witness
Podcast - The Extreme Case
Most business disputes settle. But if you bank on settlement without preparing for trial, you put your company at a disadvantage. The best settlements come when the other side knows you are fully ready for court. That means...more
Of all the challenges inherent in discovery, case strategizing, and trial preparation, a missing witness or other key person may pose the most frustration. Most individuals can be located easily at their place of residence or...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
Under CPLR §§ 3111 and 3122(d), “[t]he reasonable production expenses of a non-party witness shall be defrayed by the party seeking discovery.” The Commercial Division Rules at Appendix A (“Guidelines for the Discovery of...more
Legal discovery often comprises the longest stage of casework—identifying evidence, developing timelines, and vetting witnesses. The facts, strengths, and weaknesses of a case provide puzzle pieces that attorneys identify and...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
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
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
The discovery phase is often the most critical component of legal work, leading 95% of civil cases to a settlement negotiation instead of a courtroom trial. Given this, how information is collected from potential witnesses is...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
Broadly speaking, most personal injury claims survive the death of the plaintiff. They live on as survivor’s actions or wrongful death claims brought by representatives of the deceased plaintiff’s estate....more
Corporate defendants are frequently faced with a quandary—is the company’s highly sophisticated professional employee simply a fact witness or does their anticipated testimony propel them into the world of expert discovery?...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
From the now decades old asbestos litigation to pharmaceuticals and product liability cases to the newly developing PFAS or “forever chemical” lawsuits, mass tort litigation has increasingly become the tool of choice by which...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
There are four main ways to conduct a pretrial deposition in modern law practice: the deposition by written question, the in-person deposition, the remote deposition, and the hybrid deposition. Each has its strengths and...more
In this post, we’re going to share three excellent deposition tips taken from a recent online presentation, How to Prepare for Your First (or 100th) Deposition, delivered by a pair of Miami-based litigators. Among many other...more
A recent discovery ruling from an Ohio federal magistrate judge offers a helpful primer on how corporate representatives should prepare for depositions. The ruling, In re FirstEnergy Corp. Securities Litig., No. 2:20-cv-3785...more
Introduction- Picture this: you are on-site at a new client’s headquarters for a weeklong hostile work environment investigation into several internal complaints made against the CEO and CFO. This is the first engagement...more
We recently blogged about a case in which a court ruled that a subpoena for a remote deposition did not violate Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(c)’s 100-mile limit on subpoenas for non-party witnesses because the deponent...more
In the fourth episode of his "Ethical Witness Preparation" podcast series, "Finding the Balance," litigation attorney Dan Small draws a parallel between witness preparation and translating different languages. Mr. Small also...more
In popular culture, a trial often hinges on a single moment – an accidental admission of guilt or sudden epiphany from a budding lawyer. But when a matter heads to a final arbiter in the real world, a legal team will have...more