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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Employment and Workers Comp

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, January 17, 2024

  • 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.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will prepare litigators to depose or defend depositions of named plaintiffs in class and collective actions. The panel will outline techniques for adequately preparing and questioning named plaintiffs and offer strategies to leverage deposition testimony during certification, settlement, and trial.

Faculty

John Houston Pope
Member
Epstein Becker & Green PC

Mr. Pope is a Member of the Firm in the Employee Benefits, Litigation, and Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practices, which predominately involves the litigation of controversies, representing management in all aspects of employment-related matters. He also counsels clients on lowering litigation risks and exposures. His extensive experience in employment law litigation spans a broad spectrum of issues, including promotion, termination, and harassment claims based on race, national origin, religion, sex, age, and disability; retaliation claims; whistleblower claims; wrongful discharge suits; and other employment-related torts. His cases have included single plaintiff, collective, and class actions.

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Rebecca Ojserkis
Attorney
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC

Ms. Ojserkis is an Associate in Cohen Milstein’s Civil Rights & Employment Litigation practice, where she litigates civil rights and employment class and collective actions. Prior to working in private practice, Ms. Ojserkis litigated cases at the ACLU, where she worked with the Women’s Rights Project, Immigrants’ Rights Project, and National Prison Project. She also clerked for the Honorable Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Honorable Sidney H. Stein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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Description

When deposing named plaintiffs in employment class or collective actions, the parties have opposing goals. Defense counsel aims to uncover evidence showing that the plaintiff is unable to represent the interests of the entire class of employees adequately and to identify differences between the named plaintiff and the proposed class in an attempt to defeat commonality and typicality. Plaintiff's counsel aims to bolster the alleged facts and demonstrate how the named plaintiffs share common legal and factual issues with and can adequately represent the proposed class.

The named plaintiff's answers to the deposition questions will allow both counsel to better prepare for the next steps in the case by assessing strengths or weaknesses as they relate to adequacy, typicality, and commonality.

Listen as our authoritative panel of employment class litigators discusses practical techniques for taking and defending depositions of named plaintiffs in employment class or collective actions and strategies for using deposition testimony during certification, settlement, and trial.

Outline

  1. Timing of deposition
  2. Questioning named plaintiffs and responding to objections
  3. Preparing named plaintiff for deposition and objecting to questions
  4. Using exhibits
  5. Using information obtained from social media

    Benefits

    The panel will review these and other principal issues:

    • What types of questions and questioning techniques will maximize the information obtained from named plaintiffs during depositions?
    • What strategies are effective when responding to objections during depositions of named plaintiffs?
    • What are the most effective ways for counsel to raise objections to questions during the deposition of a named plaintiff?
    • How are class litigators incorporating social media into the deposition process?
    • How can deposition testimony be most effectively used during class certification, settlement, and trial?