Taking and Defending Depositions 2010

Overview

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Recently admitted NY attorneys: This program is accredited for transitional CLE credit

Why You Should Attend

With fewer cases reaching juries, deposition testimony has become a substitute for trial testimony.  Skilled litigators know how to take advantage of this unique opportunity to gather information, learn about an adversary’s case, and get a close-up look at the performance of potential witnesses.  Learn how to maximize this chance to gain an advantage for future settlement or litigation. Our faculty of experienced litigators will take you through every facet of the deposition process, starting with general strategic principles and moving through the use of deposition testimony at trial. We’ll also use demonstrations to illustrate the dos and don’ts of depositions, give you practice tips for each stage of the process, and show the tactical and strategic considerations behind the techniques employed.

What You Will Learn

• Deposition strategy and purpose:  deciding where each deposition fits into your overall discovery plan
• Doing your homework to prepare for a deposition
• Nuts and bolts of taking a deposition, including stipulations, objections, and use of exhibits
• Dealing with a difficult adversary
• Defending the deposition: objections, instructing the witness, and going off the record
• Expert witnesses: how to be prepared and prepare your expert, including a discussion of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Using deposition testimony at trial: rules, techniques, and tactical concerns
• Ethical issues unique to depositions:  what to do when you think the witness is lying

Who Should Attend

Whether you’re an experienced litigator or are new to the deposition process, this program will give you the skills to prepare, execute, and use depositions in the most effective manner for your client and your case.

Special Features

Live Webcast - Simultaneous live webcast of the San Francisco session is available for individual viewing. Webcast participants will receive streaming audio and/or video of the program, view and print the Course Handbook, and have the ability to submit questions electronically.
 
For more information click on the Live Webcast link in the Related Items box.

Special Bonus to all Registrants

All attendees receive a complimentary copy of PLI's comprehensive Course Handbook. This softcover, bound volume was written to augment this program and to stand alone as a permanent reference. PLI's Course Handbooks represent the definitive thinking of the nation's finest legal minds, and are often the standard reference in the field.

Please Note: Webcast attendees will receive a downloadable version of the Handbook one business day prior to the program.

PLI Group Discounts

Groups of 4-14 from the same organization, all registering at the same time, for a PLI program scheduled for presentation at the same site, are entitled to receive a group discount. For further discount information, please contact membership@pli.edu or call (800) 260-4PLI.

PLI Can Arrange Group Viewing to Your Firm

Contact the Groupcasts Department via email at groupcasts@pli.edu for more details.

Cancellations

All cancellations received 3 business days prior to the program will be refunded 100%. If you do not cancel within the allotted time period, payment is due in full. You may substitute another individual to attend the program at any time.

Schedule

Morning Session:  9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

9:00  Opening Remarks and Introduction

Randi W. Singer

9:15  Deposition Strategy & Taking the Deposition

• Deposition Strategy
  -Setting the stage for the deposition
  -How depositions fit into your overall case strategy
  -Choosing who to depose and when to depose them
  -Anatomy of a deposition
• Taking the Deposition
  -Preparation and outline
  -Ground rules
  -Background information
  -Structure and pacing of the deposition 
  -Follow-up and conclusory questions 
  -Differences in state and federal practice
  -Practice Tip: Handling difficult witnesses

James S. Goddard, Denise Plunkett, Gerald A. Stein, James H.R. Windels

11:00  Networking Break

11:15  Preparing the Witness and Defending the Deposition

• Important general education for your witness
• Preparing a 30(b)(6) witness
• Working with in-house counsel to prepare the witness
• Objections - what are they? When should you make them?
• Dealing with difficult adversaries
• “Cross” examination of your own witness and when to conduct it
• Practice Tip: Preparing a witness for a videotaped deposition

Bruce S. Meyer, Dr. Susan A. Powell, Ph.D., Hillary Richard

12:30  Lunch

Afternoon Session:  1:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

1:45  Expert Depositions

• How experts are different from fact witnesses
• Using expert reports and preparing to take an expert deposition
• Eliciting an expert’s opinion
• Pitfalls of using client as an “expert”
• Daubert considerations
• Practice Tip: Using hypotheticals with experts

Kimo S. Peluso, Laura B. Stamm, Jack G. Stern

2:45  Using the Deposition

• Depositions in trial prep: designations, direct, cross
• When can you use a deposition at trial?
• Effective use of deposition excerpts at trial
• Practice Tip: Using depositions for summary judgment papers

David R. Marriott, Randi W. Singer

3:45  Networking Break

4:00  Ethical Dilemmas Arising With Depositions

• The work product doctrine
• Protecting your witness and staying within ethical boundaries
• What do you do if you think your client is lying in a deposition?

Professor Claudia Angelos, Partha P. Chattoraj

5:00  Adjourn

Faculty

Chairperson(s)

Randi W. Singer, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Speaker(s)

Claudia Angelos, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
Partha P. Chattoraj, Markowitz & Chattoraj LLP
James S. Goddard, Director/Associate General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Citi
David R. Marriott, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Bruce S. Meyer, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP
Kimo S. Peluso, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Denise Plunkett, Dickstein Shapiro LLP
Susan A. Powell, Ph.D., President, Strategic Litigation Research
Hillary Richard, Brune & Richard LLP
Laura B. Stamm, Managing Principal, Analysis Group, Inc.
Gerald A. Stein, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission
Jack G. Stern, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP
James H.R. Windels, Davis Polk & Wardwell

Program Attorney(s)

Laurie Gilbertson, Practising Law Institute

CLE Credit

Travel Information

New York City Seminar Location

PLI New York Center, 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street (21st floor), New York, New York 10019. Message Center, program days only: (212) 824-5733.

New York City Hotel Accommodations

The New York Hilton & Towers, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. 1 block from PLI Center. Reservations 1-800-HILTONS or, 1-877-NYC-HILT. Please mention that you are booking a room under the Practising Law Institute Corporate rate and the Client File # is N495741. Reservations on line at www.hilton.com and enter the same Client File # in the Corporate ID # field to access Practising Law Institute rates.

The Warwick New York Hotel, 65 West 54th Street New York, NY 10019. 1 block from PLI Center. Reservations 800-223-4099 or, hotel direct 212-247-2700. Please mention that you are booking a room under the Practising Law Institute Corporate rate. Reservations on line at www.warwickhotelny.com Click reservations in menu bar on left. Select desired dates. In 'Special Rates' drop down window select Corporate Rate. In 'Rate Code' enter PLIN. Click search and select desired room type and rate plan. Or, you may email reservation requests to: res.ny@warwickhotels.com.