Nolo's deposition handbook

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Where to find it

Law Library — 4th Floor Collection (4th floor)

Call Number
KF8900 .B44 2014
Status
In-Library Use Only

Authors, etc.

Names:

Summary

Getting deposed? Conducting a deposition? Here's the book you need to take the mystery out of the deposition process and answer questions with confidence. You'll even learn the three "golden rules" for answering questions and the trick questions lawyers often use to influence testimony.

A perfect book for law students, lawyers, legal assistants, witnesses, expert witnesses, and anyone who wants to represent themselves in court, Nolo's Deposition Handbook provides all the information you need to sail through the deposition process with confidence. This edition contains updated statutes, cases, and rules -- plus, new material on "electronic discovery" which applies to information stored in computers, including records and emails.

Contents

  • Introduction: Your Deposition Companion p. 1
  • Part 1 You Are a Deponent p. 3
  • Part 2 Taking and Defending Depositions p. 4
  • The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) p. 5
  • Finding the Deposition Rules That Apply to You p. 6
  • Local Rules p. 7
  • Part 1 You Are a Deponent
  • 1 An Overview of Deposition Procedures p. 11
  • Depositions in a Nutshell p. 12
  • Providing Notice of a Deposition p. 12
  • Deposition Scheduling Requirements p. 14
  • Rescheduling Your Deposition p. 15
  • Avoiding a Deposition Altogether p. 18
  • Duration of Depositions p. 19
  • Deposition Attendees p. 20
  • Document Production at Depositions p. 27
  • Reviewing and Signing Your Deposition p. 28
  • 2 Using Depositions in a Lawsuit p. 29
  • Using Depositions Before a Trial p. 30
  • Using Depositions in a Trial p. 36
  • 3 Preparing to Give Deposition Testimony p. 43
  • Parties Represented by Attorneys p. 44
  • Parries Representing Themselves p. 47
  • Nonparty Witnesses p. 63
  • 4 Responding to Questions p. 69
  • The Golden Rules for Responding to Questions p. 70
  • Responding to Common Questions p. 77
  • Responding to Trick Questions p. 80
  • Responding to Requests for Future Action p. 93
  • Finishing Interrupted Answers p. 96
  • Avoiding Sarcastic and Other Emotional Responses p. 96
  • Handling Fatigue p. 97
  • Objections p. 100
  • Reviewing and Signing Your Deposition p. 101
  • 5 Beginning a Deposition: "The Usual Admonitions" p. 105
  • Admonitions Defined p. 106
  • Purposes of Admonitions p. 107
  • Admonitions: Examples and Explanations p. 108
  • 6 Background Questions p. 117
  • Hidden Agendas p. 118
  • Legitimacy of Background Questions p. 121
  • Your Employment History p. 122
  • Your Educational Background p. 125
  • Other Background Topics p. 127
  • 7 Questions You Can Refuse to Answer p. 129
  • Privileged Communications p. 130
  • The Work Product Privilege p. 139
  • Evidence of Criminal Activity p. 141
  • Private Information p. 144
  • 8 Expert Witness Deponents p. 147
  • The Difference Between Expert and Nonexpert Witnesses p. 148
  • Predeposition Disclosures p. 156
  • Typical Predeposition Involvement p. 157
  • The Importance of Thorough Deposition Preparation p. 161
  • The Predeposition Planning Meeting p. 163
  • Typical Deposition Questioning p. 164
  • Part 2 Taking and Defending Depositions
  • 9 The Lay of the Discovery Landscape p. 181
  • The Purposes of Discovery p. 182
  • Impediments to Achieving Discovery Goals p. 183
  • Voluntary Disclosure p. 185
  • Informal Discovery p. 185
  • Discovery Plans p. 186
  • General Rules of Discovery Questioning p. 188
  • Enforcing Discovery Rules p. 189
  • An Overview of Formal Discovery Methods p. 190
  • Electronic Discovery (E-Discovery) p. 202
  • 10 Defending a Deposition p. 205
  • Preparing for the Deposition p. 208
  • Listening Carefully p. 209
  • Eliciting Additional Information After Your Opponent's Questioning p. 209
  • Entering Into Stipulations p. 214
  • Making Objections p. 215
  • Terminating a Deposition p. 233
  • 11 Taking a Deposition: Deposing a Hostile Witness p. 237
  • Should You Take a Deposition? p. 238
  • Deciding Whom to Depose p. 240
  • Subject Matter Depositions (Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions) p. 242
  • When to Take Depositions p. 242
  • Preparing to Take a Deposition p. 244
  • Beginning the Deposition: Preliminary Questioning p. 249
  • The Two Basic Forms of Questions p. 249
  • Using the Two Basic Forms of Questions p. 251
  • Using Documents p. 264
  • Responding to an Evasive Witness p. 268
  • Depositions Arranged by Your Opponent p. 271
  • 12 Taking a Deposition: Responding to a Defending Attorney's Roadblocks p. 273
  • Responding to Objections p. 274
  • Responding to Instructions Not to Answer p. 293
  • Responding to an Intimidating Attorney p. 306
  • The Bottom Line p. 307
  • 13 Taking a Deposition: Deposing a Friendly Witness p. 309
  • When to Depose a Friendly Witness p. 310
  • Offering Deposition Testimony Into Evidence p. 312
  • Eliciting All Favorable Evidence p. 312
  • Complying With Evidence Rules p. 313
  • 14 Visually Recorded Depositions p. 315
  • The Rules of Visually Recorded Depositions p. 318
  • When Should You Visually Record a Deposition? p. 322
  • Disadvantages of Videotaping p. 324
  • Taking an Effective Visually Recorded Deposition p. 325
  • Defending a Visually Recorded Deposition p. 327
  • Remote Location Depositions p. 330
  • Glossary p. 333
  • Appendixes
  • A Exerpts From the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) p. 339
  • B State Discovery and Deposition Rules p. 379
  • C Sample Forms p. 387
  • Index p. 409

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