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About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will cover advanced deposition techniques in litigation. The panel will discuss strategies for getting the most out of depositions, including exhaustion, boxing-in, and summarization techniques for ordinary, hostile, or evasive witnesses.
Description
Depositions are an essential tool for gathering the information to prove the client's case, disprove or undercut the adversary's positions, pin down the critical facts of the case, and tee up a settlement or dispositive motion.
Depositions set the stage both for pre-trial resolutions and victory at trial. The value of deposition testimony is directly proportional to the examining attorney's goals and techniques. Commercial litigators who hone their skills to elicit the testimony and evidence they desire will significantly increase the likelihood of a favorable disposition of the case.
Counsel must be proficient in exhaustion, boxing-in, and summarizing techniques. These techniques will give the litigator the best shot at gathering vital information from even the most difficult or evasive deposition witnesses if implemented optimally. If the desired information is not forthcoming, these techniques may expose witnesses acting in bad faith and being less than open, providing ammunition for impeachment.
Listen as our experienced panel introduces the best methods for using techniques without tipping off the deponent and provides real world demonstrations of how they work. Depositions are an essential tool for gathering the information to prove the client's case, disprove or undercut the adversary's positions, pin down the critical facts of the case, and tee up a settlement or dispositive motion.
Presented By
Ms. Bernabei has been litigating employment discrimination, civil rights, and whistleblower cases for over thirty years. She is a founding partner of Bernabei & Kabat, PLLC, where she handles claims of civil rights violations, and discrimination cases across the country. Although the practice focuses on cases in state and federal court in the Mid-Atlantic region, she has also litigated cases in New York, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Mr. Cochran is a Partner in the Litigation Practice of Smith Gambrell Russell LLP. During the 45 years he has been practicing law in Atlanta, Mr. Cochran has represented many individuals and businesses on a wide variety of complex matters. He has tried dozens of jury trials in many areas of the law (both civil and criminal, federal and state), bench trials (in federal and state courts), administrative and regulatory hearings (before both federal and state agencies and boards), and medical peer review hearings at hospitals. Mr. Cochran's unique experience allows him to handle parallel civil, administrative and criminal proceedings, which are common in today’s legal environment. Being able to competently handle civil, administrative and potentially criminal matters for a client simultaneously can be an enormous savings to a client by preventing duplication of effort.
Mr. Gordon has been representing businesses and individuals in all aspects of dispute avoidance and resolution since 1989. Some examples of the matters Mr. Gordon has handled include acting as lead litigation counsel for a major foreign bank sued for billions of dollars in connection with the bankruptcy of a large telecom company, successfully fending off a $100 million lender liability case against one of the five largest U.S. banks, and obtaining a $48 million judgment against a large California real estate developer. He is a frequent speaker and writer on a variety of topics related to litigation and is the former Co-Chair of the Commercial Disputes Practice Group at a global, AmLaw 100 law firm.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Live Online
On Demand
Date + Time
- event
Thursday, August 15, 2024
- schedule
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- Introduction
- Exhaustion
- Restating/summarizing
- Boxing-in
- Structuring depositions for difficult and evasive witnesses
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How exhausting the subject prevents surprises at trial and aids impeachment
- Using these techniques with the evasive witness
- The art of boxing in the evasive or hostile witness
- The "summarizing" strategy that can prevent witnesses from changing positions later in the case
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