Westin Tabor Center
Denver, CO
Taking and defending depositions well are among the most critical skills every trial lawyer needs—and are abilities seldom acquired in law school. This program combines lectures, demonstrations, and small interactive workshops to offer you a special opportunity to increase your deposition skills, led by masters of the art. Over the course of three days, top trial lawyers will guide you through a variety of deposition techniques and strategies. Your recorded workshops will allow you to practice defending depositions and taking depositions of both lay and expert witnesses.
Friday, September 26
Registration: (Continental breakfast)
8:00 am-8:30 am
Welcoming Remarks and Introductions:
8:30 am-9:00 am
Developing a Discovery Plan
- Who, what, when, where, and why to depose
- The written plan
- Sequencing your discovery
- Identifying your weakness
Addressing Bias in Depositions
- How bias affects your deposition strategy
- Using the deposition to overcome juror bias
Ten Rules for Effective Depositions
- Controlling the environment of the depositions
- Developing goals
- Obtaining material for cross
Adverse Lay and Expert Witness Depositions: Techniques of Exhaustion, Boxing-in, Summarization
Making the witness tell you everything he or she knows
Summarizing techniques to keep the witness from changing his or her testimony
Cementing the witness's testimony
Workshop Introductions and Networking Lunch:
12:15 pm-1:45 pm
Organizing for Depositions and Planning Tactics
- Creating a deposition notebook
- Using documents and learned treatises
- Exploiting the opponent's weaknesses
Workshop on Taking Depositions
Networking Reception:
6:00 pm-7:00 pm
Saturday, September 27
Continental breakfast:
8:00 am-8:30 am
Morning Session:
8:30 am-11:45 am
Developing Your Theme in Discovery
Structuring the Deposition of a Difficult Witness
- How to identify the difficult witness
- How to control the difficult witness
- The one fact, one question approach
- How to deal with nonresponsive answers
General Considerations for Witness Deposition Preparation
- Special considerations for client preparation
Record Depositions and Rule 30(b)(6)
- Deposing the "corporation"
- Depositions by designation
- Structuring a 30(b)(6) notice
Lunch: (on own)
11:45 am-1:00 pm
Afternoon Session:
1:00 pm-5:30 pm
Dealing with the Difficult Situation and Attorney (ethics)
- Hall v. Clifton Precision Tools
- Handling objections
- Instructions not to answer
- Calling the judge
Workshop on Deposing the Lay Witness
Sunday, September 28
Continental breakfast:
7:30 am-8:00 am
Morning Session:
8:00 am-1:15 pm
Deposing the Defense Medical Examiner
- Gaining concessions
- Developing cross material
- Obtaining information for use by your expert
- Discovery of economic interest
Later Use of Depositions at Settlement and Trial
Workshop on Deposing Expert Witnesses (Lunch will be provided)
Earn approximately 20* CLE and NCA credits, including 1 hour of ethics, to be applied to your participation in the NCA's Achievement Recognition Program, including one ethics credit. For more general information consult the FAQs or e-mail AAJ Education at education@justice.org.
Achievement Recognition Program
The Achievement Recognition Program (ARP) provides Advocate, Fellow, and Diplomate recognition to AAJ members. To gain ARP credits, submit a certificate of attendance for every seminar, college, and convention you attend.
Advanced Studies in Trial Advocacy
This seminar qualifies for the Advanced Studies in Trial Advocacy (ASTA) curriculum—programs and subjects AAJ deems important to a well-rounded legal education.
Click here to learn more about ARP and ASTA or call (800) 622-1791 or (202) 965-3500, ext. 8612.
AAJ Education programs are routinely accredited by states requiring continuing legal education. We will assist you in obtaining appropriate credit. Specific CLE questions may be addressed by calling the CLE assistant at (202) 944-2877, or (800) 622-1791.
* Number of credits may be greater depending on calculation method used by accreditation agency. AAJ is a state bar of California MCLE approved provider.
