Navigate Litigation 2.0

Effective August 1, a recently revised Indiana court rule gives that state‘s trial judges the authority to impose tough sanctions on litigants who submit any pleadings “citing fictitious legal authority.” The new rule will require attorneys to draft court filings with the greatest care, or risk crippling sanctions. The Indiana court rule, Cause No. 26S-MS-8,…

The deposition of an opposing party’s in-house counsel is a tempting target in high-stakes litigation, but nowhere more so than in Texas, a jurisdiction more permissive than any other when it comes to deposing lawyers for the opposing party. Federal courts and nearly every other state court require that parties seeking to depose opposing in-house…

Watching the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act’s slow crawl toward acceptance in all 50 states can be as stimulating as watching paint dry. Forty-eight state enactments, just two more to go. What’s taking so long? Outside of a 0-0 tie after 90 minutes of FIFA World Cup “action,” nothing beats for sheer tedium the…

If you take depositions in Georgia, the rules that govern who can make your record just got clearer. On July 1, 2026, House Bill 1208 took effect, updating Georgia’s Civil Practice Act to require that depositions be taken before a certified court reporter — and removing the outdated requirement that testimony be captured “by stenographic…

The fifth in a series of articles on basic strategies for questioning commonly encountered witnesses in civil litigation. This week: the plaintiff. The plaintiff’s deposition is rarely just another deposition. The plaintiff is the architect of the lawsuit, the person whose factual story drives the pleadings, frames the damages claim, and ultimately stands before the…

The fourth in a series of articles on basic strategies for questioning commonly encountered witnesses in civil litigation. This week: the lay witness. The lay witness deposition often decides whether a civil case settles, survives summary judgment, or proceeds to verdict. Lay witnesses — an injured party, an eyewitness to a collision, a workplace bystander…