Page 17 - FDCC Deposition Drills

Deposition Drills How to Teach Deposition Skills
Document Gathering
An effective deposition begins well before the first question is asked, and one of the necessary prerequisites is securing relevant documents. Securing documents isn’t a task simply assigned to a paralegal or legal assistant. The attorney deposing the witness is responsible for securing every document needed for the deposition.
EXPLANATION
This exercise teaches how to define what relevant documents must be secured for a deposition and how to secure them.
EXERCISE
Choose two or three types of cases your firm or practice group handles. Ask the participants to state all the relevant documents that may be available in those cases and how best to secure them. As the exercise leader, have a list of the types of documents you rely upon and how you secure them and at the end of the exercise compare the participants’ lists to yours.
LESSONS LEARNED
This exercise teaches participants to think through all the available relevant documents and how to secure them. The larger the group of participants, the more ideas they will have about what documents to secure and how to do so.
A FEW QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS
Why are documents important in a deposition?
How can they be secured?
What are unique ways to secure documents?
Are there ways to secure documents without tipping your hand to opposing counse or the witness that you have them?
How can a document lead to other documents?
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SECTION 01 PREPARATIONS