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What to Expect From Your First Deposition, Part 2

Posted on January 13, 2010 7:17 PM |Permalink |TrackBacks (0)

This question is usually asked with some apprehension from new expert witnesses. The key is clearly preparation and caution. Early work and preparation with your client is critical. Aaron Larson, a lawyer based out of Michigan, wrote a very useful series of tips for the new expert witness.Part of it includes:

If you are inexperienced  as an expert witness, you should know the following for deposition:

Know the legal issues. Speak with your client about the legal issues, and get comfortable with the legal terminology for your case.

Only one person may speak at a time. Everything you say at a deposition is being transcribed. The court reporter cannot make a good record when people interrupt each other or talk at the same time.

Only answer the question that was asked. Ordinarily, after you have answered the specific question that you were asked, you will not want to volunteer any additional information. Even if opposing counsel sits silently and seems to expect you to say more, don't fall into that trap. If opposing counsel wants more information, he will ask a follow-up question. Get used to silence even if it makes you uncomfortable -- it is your job to answer questions, not to fill silence.

Think before you answer questions. Whether on direct examination or cross-examination, think before you speak. It is almost always better for there to be a short pause before you answer a question than for you to give a bad answer.



His whole posting with many more great suggesitons can be found here 

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About This Post

This page contains a single entry by Toby Edwards posted on January 13, 2010 7:17 PM.

What to Expect From Your First Deposition, Part 1 was the previous post in this blog.

Are Lawyers too Profitable? is the next post in this blog.

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