Esquire Viewpoint: Getting you ready for what's next in litigation
The world of litigation is rapidly evolving. Learn how to get more from your investments, improve outcomes and seize the opportunities inherent in change.
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The Trial Is Over, So Why Schedule a Deposition?
Depositions are a potent pretrial discovery and trial preparation tool. They allow parties to gather information regarding any non-privileged matter that is relevant to a party’s claim or defense. Through depositions, litigators are able to evaluate the credibility of potential witnesses, authenticate key documents, gain admissions that might narrow the scope of issues to be…
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Litigation Is Starting to Resemble Reality TV
Ever since the ABA advanced the principle that “competent representation” includes the duty of technology competence, lawyers have developed an understanding of the many ways in which technology affects law practice and the interests of clients. Certainly, vigilance on cybersecurity matters falls within a modern lawyer’s expected professional competence. As does taking care with the…
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Keeping Deposition Transcripts Confidential in the Internet Age
Deposition transcripts, like other pretrial discovery materials, do not become public records until they’re filed with the court. Before they are filed with the court, they routinely dwell in obscurity, shielded from public view in locked filing cabinets and on law firm and court reporting agency computer networks. That’s the way litigators like it. Pretrial…
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New York Courts Weigh Improvements to Pretrial Conferences
In theory, pretrial conferences streamline litigation by setting discovery deadlines and encouraging parties to take a hard look at all relevant issues in the case and, if possible, reach a settlement before trial. In practice, however, pretrial conferences often fall short of this ideal. They can be go-through-the-motions affairs conducted by lower-level associates who are…
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How to Navigate Common Remote Deposition Trouble Spots
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 effectively, and efficiently, introduce and use digital exhibits. And they worry that the remote environment is an invitation for mischief. Fortunately,…
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ABA Urges Lawyers to Raise Their Cybersecurity Game
The American Bar Association has again called on law firms to do more to protect their computer systems from intrusion by bad actors. The ABA’s House of Delegates approved Aug. 8 a trio of resolutions addressing cybersecurity topics – all with essentially the same message: Law firms have a vital role in protecting confidential information entrusted…
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Availability of Remote Depositions May Pressure Expert Travel Expenses
Reasonable expenses for an expert witness deposition surely include the expert’s travel time, airfare and hotel accommodations. Right? It’s true that litigators are free to make their own financial arrangements regarding the payment of an expert’s fees and deposition-related charges. Charges for travel time, business-class airfare, meal allowances, and accommodations for multiple nights at business-class…
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Courts Want to See Just the Relevant Portions of Deposition Transcripts
In the federal system, deposition testimony often provides crucial evidentiary support for summary judgment motions— a key procedural device for narrowing contested issues that require trial or, in some cases, eliminating the need for trial altogether. Deposition testimony can only serve this purpose, however, when it is properly cited and presented for the trial judge’s…
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Court Ruling Shows (Again) How Depositions Save Money in Litigation
The international law firm McGuire Woods recently published a news note, Virginia Court Holds School Board Immune From Virginia Human Rights Act Claims, explaining how a local school board successfully raised a sovereign immunity defense to defeat several potentially expensive state-law civil rights claims. Along the way, the article’s author identified two reasons why the…
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Lawyer Who Insisted Deposition Be Conducted In-Person Hit With Opposing Attorney’s Fees
At a time when remote depositions are commonplace, litigators weigh any number of factors when deciding whether a deposition should be conducted in-person or remotely. Does the case turn on the credibility of the witness, and does the litigator believe that credibility can be more accurately evaluated during an in-person deposition? Does the trial court…
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