Preparing Witnesses for Depositions

1. Review All Important Pleadings
   Your client should carefully review all pleadings in the case, not just his or her answers to interrogatories. This includes the Complaint, the Answer, and any expert designations. This will help your client fully understand the theories of the case. Remember, allegations in a Complaint and responses in an Answer are fair game, and your client should be fully acquainted with these documents.

2. Never Volunteer or Guess
   Your client should never volunteer any information, or guess about any answer. While it remains true that depositions provide the other side with an opportunity to evaluate your client, they are more about damage control. Volunteering information or guessing about an answer remain surefire ways of having your case ruined.

3. Arguing With the Lawyer
   Make sure your client understands that opposing counsel may try to provoke him/her. If your client gets angry, odds are he/she will get angry while on the witness stand at trial. Explain to your client that a deposition is in many ways like a test, and anger rarely plays a positive role.

4. Never Let Your Client Draw
   The Rules of Civil Procedure in Maryland, D.C, Virginia, and federally, place no requirement on a deponent to ever make a drawing. Yet, opposing counsel may ask your client to draw a diagram or illustration. This is wholly improper, and unless your client is a professional artist, it is likely that the drawing will not be to scale. Depositions are a form of oral discovery - not a drawing contest.

5. Questions During the Deposition/Taking a Break
   Your client must be comfortable about asking you a question during the deposition. So long as no question is pending, it is entirely appropriate for your client to ask to take a break. You may even consider breaking the deposition after a short period of time to give your client a quick critique on his/her performance. In short, your client should feel comfortable taking a break.

6. Prepare a Word Index for the Court Reporter
   Odds are you, the parties, and opposing counsel will be far more knowledgeable about your case than the court reporter. One way to limit any wasted time in the deposition, and to increase the accuracy of the transcript, is to prepare an index of technical terms for the reporter. Medical terms, for example, can be complicated for a reporter to accurately record. Creating a list of terms that will be used in the deposition is easy to do, and will certainly pay off in the quality of your record.

7. Substantive Changes Are Appropriate
   Your client should fully understand that you have the ability to make substantive changes to the deposition. If your client makes a mistake, it can be fixed. For that reason, in depositions where you know that your client misspoke, definitely elect to "read and sign" the transcript. Otherwise, you will be waiving the opportunity to correct the error.

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