BarbriSFCourseDetails
  1. keyboard_arrow_leftBack

Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Family Law

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, February 14, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will prepare family law practitioners to take and defend depositions of parties, lay witnesses, and expert witnesses in divorce and custody cases. The panel will explain tactics for preparing witnesses, outline techniques for effective questioning, and offer strategies for leveraging deposition testimony during discovery, settlement, and trial.

Faculty

David H. Pikus
Principal
Bressler Amery & Ross, PC

Mr. Pikus has been actively engaged as a litigator for over three decades in New York and New Jersey. Devoted to complex cases, his experience has spanned nearly all facets of litigation, including general commercial, matrimonial, bankruptcy, regulatory, public utility, securities, environmental and intellectual property.

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio
Barbra I. Black
Managing Partner
Black, LaFrance & Bollinger, LLC

Ms. Black has been practicing law for over thirty years and is a founding member and the managing partner of The Black Law Group, LLC. She was a former partner at the Boston, MA law firm of Burns & Levinson, LLP, where she practiced for over eight years in the firm's Divorce and Family Law group. Prior to that, Ms. Black was a solo practitioner for several years, focusing her practice in the area of domestic relations litigation.

expand_circle_down Expand to View Full Bio expand_circle_up Collapse Bio

Description

Effective deposition skills are critical to a successful family law practice. Information gained during depositions impacts trial strategy and settlement discussions. Obtaining or protecting critical information during depositions is key to a positive--or negative--case outcome.

Properly preparing deponents, taking control of the dynamics of a deposition, effectively questioning lay and expert witnesses, and strategically raising objections all have a significant impact on the amount and usefulness of information obtained during depositions.

Listen as our authoritative panel of family law attorneys discusses effective witness preparation techniques, advanced questioning methods, and strategies for using deposition testimony during discovery, settlement discussions, and trial.

Outline

  1. Planning for depositions
    1. Determining who to depose
    2. Goals of deposition
    3. Seating arrangements, participant personalities, and other "dynamics" considerations
    4. Witness preparation
    5. Document requests
  2. Taking and defending depositions
    1. Questioning witnesses
    2. Raising and responding to objections
    3. Using exhibits
    4. Using information obtained from social media
  3. Post-deposition strategies
    1. Using deposition information during discovery
    2. Using deposition information during settlement discussions and trial

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What are the most common challenges family law practitioners face when taking and defending depositions of parties, lay witnesses, and experts?
  • What deposition questioning techniques will maximize the information obtained from witnesses?
  • What strategies are effective when raising and responding to objections during depositions?
  • How can deposition testimony be most effectively used during discovery, settlement, and trial?