Navigate Litigation 2.0
Proposed Rule 45 Amendments Clarify Subpoena Power Over Distant Witnesses
February 16 is the end of the public comment period on recently proposed federal rule changes affecting remote testimony and remote depositions. The rules revisions would make clear that federal trial courts have authority to order nonparties to give remote trial testimony from locations within 100 miles of their residence or employment address. The rules…
Read MorePuerto Rico Moves to Join Interstate Deposition Framework
Hola! from Puerto Rico, where that U.S. territory’s Senate recently advanced legislation modernizing how lawyers obtain witness depositions across state lines. According to the Uniform Law Commission, a bill adopting the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act was approved by the Senate’s judicial committee on Jan. 19. If adopted, Senate Bill 765 would amend Puerto Rico’s…
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence Prompts Most Reader Interest in 2025
Just as it did in 2024 and 2023, the topic of artificial intelligence in litigation practice attracted the most interest among our readers in 2025. The journey from 2023 to 2025 has been interesting to say the least. The year 2023 was a time for considering the promise of artificial intelligence. In 2023, we highlighted…
Read MoreThe Holiday Gift of Civility
The year-end holidays can be a busy and stressful time for litigators. As the holiday season approaches, family obligations increase. Courthouses are either closed or missing key personnel. A good number of lawyers, rather than take time off during the holidays, find themselves working longer hours in order to meet billable hours quotas or other…
Read MoreNo Right to Depose Celebrity Plaintiffs in OpenAI Copyright Spat
Famous people, whether they’re celebrities or highly placed business executives, can be difficult to pin down for depositions. We’ve written about it before, in the context of the apex deposition doctrine, which shields from depositions business leaders with scant connection to the litigation. Another ground for objecting to proposed depositions of famous would-be witnesses arises…
Read MoreCourt Disallows Costs of Travel to Remote Deposition
Wouldn’t it seem odd to incur expenses for traveling to a remote deposition? After all, one of the most compelling benefits of a remote deposition is the elimination of costs associated with traveling to and from a physical location for an in-person examination. No travel, no travel expenses. That’s how it seemed to the court…
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