Depositions
are an integral and critically important part of the legal process. The
questions you are asked and each of your answers will be taken down
word-for-word. Your answers will provide the basis for your allegations
or defenses in the lawsuit. They will also provide the basis by which
opposing parties and their lawyers will attack and try to poke holes in
your claims and defenses. That’s why you need to know exactly how
lawyers operate when it comes to deposition questions.
Lawyers are highly trained, skilled and experienced at the art of
deposition questions. And it is an art. They know most people have never
had their deposition taken before and are very nervous and scared.
Lawyers count on this and the nerve-wracking nature of depositions – and
use it to their advantage.
The most common mistake people make regarding their deposition is that
they should treat them like normal conversations. Nothing could be more
wrong or further from the truth. The normal rules of social etiquette
and conversation do not apply to depositions. Depositions are their own
world. Wholly separate and distinct rules apply to deposition questions
and how you should answer them.
1) Listen to all deposition questions very carefully.
The natural tendency, especially if you are a party to a lawsuit, is to
get ahead of yourself. To think you know what the lawyer asking the
deposition questions is asking. Do not do that. Instead, treat every one
or your deposition questions as if it is the first time you have ever
heard anything about the subject .
2) Limit your answers to the scope of the deposition questions.
Unlike normal conversation, when you help the person out who is asking
the questions, never do that in your deposition. With deposition
questions, answer only what is asked. Here is a perfect example:
Q: What is your name?
A: My name is Roger Sterling and I’m Joan Harris’s boss.
Everything after “Tom Smith” is not responsive to the question and, more
importantly, outside the scope of the question. In your deposition,
just answer the question and limit your answer to only what is asked.
Here’s another great example:
Q: Are you married?
A: Yes and my wife’s name is Betty Draper.
With regard to deposition questions, the correct way to answer that question is simply by saying, “Yes.”
What lawyers won’t tell you and don’t want you to know is that 9 times
out of 10, the additional information you give in response to deposition
questions is the precisely the information that does the most damage to
your claim or defense. If you limit your answers to just what is
specifically asked for in the question, you will be well on your way to a
successful deposition and vastly improving your chances of success in
the case.
For much more advice on deposition questions and how to handle them, please visit Deposition Rescue.
http://depositionrescue.com
Jeff L. Williams is a former trial attorney and co-founder of New Media Legal Publishing, Inc