Chris Armstrong, Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano (Photo: Courtesy Photo)

Preparing for your first deposition can be a daunting task for a young new attorney. It has been a year since I took and passed the bar, so naturally more opportunities and responsibilities are presenting themselves, with which I could not be more thrilled. One of these new opportunities and responsibilities is taking depositions. I just recently began conducting and taking my own depositions and it has become abundantly clear that the most important aspect of conducting a deposition is being prepared beforehand. In this article I would like to share some tips with my fellow young attorneys regarding preparation for depositions.

I believe it is paramount that before you begin preparing for and conducting your own depositions that you observe those conducted by an experienced attorney. Luckily, I had the opportunity to observe such an attorney, Alexis Handrich, who has been practicing workers' compensation law for over a decade. She also shared her preparation techniques, which formed the basis for how I prepare. Having a mentor and someone to help with your preparation can be invaluable and help avoid common mistakes. Watching her depositions also helped me focus on key areas in my preparation, such as identifying when an objection might be made, knowing how to respond when one is made, or determining when you should go off the record to discuss an issue. After watching another experienced attorney prepare and conduct depositions, it will be time to start conducting your own.

As for preparing for your own depositions, obviously it is important to know the file inside and out. Give yourself ample time to learn the file. This would include reading notes, documents and any previous depositions that have already been conducted in the case. Have the discovery in your hand and figure out if you are missing anything. Go over these documents with a fine-tooth comb, scrutinizing every aspect of the information. Also, as you read through the file, understand the mechanism of the injury or the harm. While you read these documents over, play the devil's advocate. Think of any weaknesses or opposing points that could arise from the documents that could be useful to opposing council. Try to predict their potential plan of attack and determine how evidence that is helpful to your case might be used against you. Anticipation is key.

Have a strategy. Ask yourself what you want out of the deponent and what the primary objective of their testimony should be. Do not just throw questions at the deponent and call it a day. There should be a point to the questions and they should relate back to your overall strategy. Do not waste time on preparing for questions that have no substance to your primary objective.

Once you have a strategy and objective in place, create an outline. But, always be prepared to go outside of the outline. Do not be prepared to just read from a script that you created ahead of time. Reading from a script that you prepared will lead to issues during the deposition. You will miss answers, ask things that have already been answered and miss opportunities to expand on answers. Also, reading from a script will make you seem less formidable to opposing counsel, which is the last thing you will want since you are already a young attorney and perceived as less of a threat than an experienced attorney.

Rather than writing a long and detailed outline, I use bullet points with key subjects that should be touched on. Be prepared to use the funnel technique. Start with general questions and funnel the general questions down to more specific areas. This will help ensure that no stone is left unturned. Get in, ask what needs to be answered, and get out. Your outline should reflect this in its creation.

Also think of the small things that you might not consider. For instance, know how to pronounce names that will be discussed. When there is a complicated last name, I look up the origins of the name and how to pronounce it properly. At times, I will have the name spelled out phonetically to help with proper pronunciation. This is also especially important with medical terms. Do not attempt pronouncing a medical test, such as esophagogastroduodenoscopy, for the first time in front of opposing counsel and your deponent. It will make you seem less credible to opposing counsel when you completely botch the name.

Another small but helpful tactic is to prepare documents that you will show to your client or expert witness at the deposition. If you plan on having an expert or client testify about something in a report or document, go ahead and highlight the relevant portions before you give it to them during the deposition. This will help them quickly identify what they are being presented and what you are focusing on in the document.

Lastly, it is important to meet with your deponent ahead of time. Understand what they plan on testifying to or what their expert opinion will be at the deposition. It is an opportunity to understand flaws in your case or their anticipated testimony. This will help you avoid areas of their testimony that might not be favorable toward your case. Another great strategy is to ask your more experienced colleagues about the expert you are deposing and the opposing counsel you will be facing. Any insight you can gain into their habits or tactics will go a long way toward making you more comfortable during the deposition.

My advice is certainly not exhaustive. There are many more important things to keep in mind when preparing for a deposition, but these are aspects of preparation that I found incredibly useful before I gave my first deposition. Thankfully my law firm, Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano, regularly conducts in-house workers' compensation boot camps and meetings presented by our experienced attorneys focused on the sharing useful advice about depositions. Coupled with the mentoring I have received, I have been given tools for successfully preparing for depositions that some might not receive. I hope this advice has been useful for my fellow young attorneys. Good luck to those of you who have either started or soon will start taking depositions. Just remember that preparation is key.

Christopher D. Armstrong is an associate with Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano and focuses his practice on Social Security disability law and workers' compensation.