Page 48 - Social Media Musings

Social Media Musings – Part III My Reflections on the Practice and Life
When preparing your client for deposition, record him/her on your phone and show him/her their tells - things they do with their body language which gives away they’re not telling the whole story or that they’ve stopped short of saying everything - and work with them to stop doing that. You train your clients to only answer the question asked. Help them to prevent their body language from betraying your instructions.
When preparing your client for deposition and for trial, make sure to get your client’s nerves and concerns in check. It’s your job to empower your client to testify.
I never want my client to see a document for the first time in deposition. I make sure I review with my client every document he may be shown in deposition.
If you’re going to do a remote deposition, schedule a run through with the court reporter a few days before to make sure you know how to use the technology, including how to use and share exhibits.
Try different things in depositions. Try different approaches, different lines of questions, different styles, different tones, differences cadences, different postures, different body language, etc. In every deposition I take, at some point, I’m going
to try something new or unique and see if
it works. In one deposition, I stood up and reenacted the accident and the witness followed suit and did the same. In another,
I drew on an eraser board we have in our conference room and the witness followed suit. Just because you’re taking more depos, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting better at taking them if you don’t challenge yourself to improve and try new things when you take them.
Depositions
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