You and your team take laptops to every deposition. But you never take a printer. Why? Portable printers are lightweight, modestly priced, and worth their weight in gold in pretrial depositions. Deponents often refer to documents, places or things that you can easily find online and then print as exhibits on the spot. You can also instantly generate new discovery, based on information gleaned during the deposition, and immediately hand it to opposing counsel. Or even print documents you left behind at the office. Give a listen, as we explain how we use them, and the tremendous benefits we get from having a lightweight printer in our briefbags.

Are you independently audiotaping all your depositions? (We know you're not.) But why aren't you? Listen as Jim Garrity explains why you should routinely audiotape depositions, apart from stenographic or other means, and provides case authority and specific federal rule citations. Garrity argues that having an independent audiotape of deposition testimony is an incredibly powerful tool, widely overlooked by almost all litigators. A must-listen.

The documents reviewed by deponents in order to refresh their recollections, before their upcoming testimony, can be of critical value. What did they look at? Is it something you even knew existed? You may need to get your hands on them. But there's a right way, and a wrong way, to lay the foundation in order to compel their production. In this podcast, we explain how to do it, using Federal Rule of Evidence 612.

SHOW NOTES (Added after original episode publication date)

J & R Passmore, LLC, et al. v. Rice Drilling D, LLC, 2021 WL 4810150 (S.D. Ohio Oct. 15, 2021) (court deemed attorney-client privilege waived as to meeting minutes and emails used by corporate representative to refresh her recollection for the purpose of testifying in deposition)

"Legal contention" questions have been widely ruled objectionable in depositions. But what are they? What should you be listening for in order to spot them? Why is it okay to ask them in interrogatories, but not in depositions? In this podcast, we explain what a legal contention question is, why it's objectionable in deposition, and how to recognize one. (They're very commonly asked, but many lawyers let them slip by without objection.) It's a topic that has proven elusive, and more than a little confusing, to both lawyers and judges. We clear it up.

What's the "right" style for deposing witnesses? Full-on confrontation, using your best evidence to attack the witness's views? Or something more subtle, to lay the groundwork for an ambush at trial?

In this episode, we answer the question, "Can a lawyer demand the deponent limit his or her answers to 'yes' or 'no'? Or can the witness go beyond a strict yes-or-no question to add context?"

In this second segment of Episode 2, we discuss different tools for capturing sworn testimony, including affidavits. Part I focused on depositions and EUOs. This part focuses on affidavits, tips for choosing which method you should use (and when), and when to pass on taking depositions at all.

In this two-part episode, we discuss three tools for capturing sworn testimony: depositions, examinations under oath (EUOs), and affidavits Part I focuses on depositions and EUOs. Part II will focus on affidavits, tips for choosing which method you should use and when, and when to pass on taking depositions at all.

Our introductory episode - why we're different, why you need to listen, and what you'll learn to help you develop superior skills in the taking and defending of pretrial depositions. The podcast is exclusively tailored to litigators and trial lawyers.