This post explains how to use deposition designations to your advantage for a smooth case planning and trial prep process.

Testimony from a living, breathing person is always better than recorded testimony in any legal matter. But given the cost and scheduling conflicts that come with a trial, recorded depositions are often a necessity. The most important tool at your disposal for making pre-recorded depositions effective is your deposition designations.

Many lawyers take designations for granted. Deposition designations are simply an identification, by page and line number, of any important testimony that one party intends to introduce into evidence at trial – usually a video clip.

But when you’re dealing with a seemingly endless stream of designations, counter designations, and changes and updates to your designation list, things can get tricky. Fortunately, there are tricks to managing the process.

1. Choose the right tools to create deposition designations

Before diving into any case, it’s important to make sure you have the right tools in hand. A comprehensive platform for managing deposition transcripts will ensure your designations are effective and easy to create.

You could utilize a software program that specializes in transcript management. Or, if you’re already using a comprehensive ediscovery platform like Nextpoint, you can use the transcript management tools already available to you.

Whatever tool you choose, it should break down your transcripts line by line and allow you to add notes and annotations. The rest of this post details some of the other features that can take your designations to the next level.

2. Color code your deposition designations

To start, think about the way your designations will appear in the transcripts. We recommend that users consider ways to use the color palette to organize the designations.

For example, try cool colors for your designations and warm colors for your oppositions’, so that the same color families are used for each party. This will help you and your staff work more effectively, especially if there are a lot of complicated designations from different parties. These color choices will also show up in reports that go to opposing counsel or the judge.

It can make your work a lot faster and more efficient because you can quickly review your designations without having to look at the key to keep your designations straight.

3. Don’t rely solely on transcripts

When organizing and planning your deposition strategy, it is always a good idea to check the demeanor and tone of the witness. With the right file type, your software tool should allow you to click on a line in a transcript to play the video at that point. This makes it easy to go beyond the words on a page and cross reference video testimony.

4. Use designation reports to your advantage

Once designations are made, you’ll be able to utilize different types of designation reports to meet various needs as you prepare for trial.

One is the line summary report, which is a video cut list in a text file. You can use this report in a tool like Trial Director to automatically create a rough cut of the video you will be presenting in court. You will likely need to fine-tune these edited clips, but this report will save you from a lot of tedious work.

You can also download the transcript itself – a full PDF report with color-coded highlighting so you can easily review the designations.

For a broader focus, you can export a condensed PDF report, which has four pages of depositions printed on a page. These reports give a high level view at a glance and consume less paper.

A summary PDF report will only show the passages that have received designations, which is useful for reading along in court exactly what is being said on screen.

Be sure to consider the purpose of the report as you choose what to include in it. You could choose to only export the defense designations for a specific day of trial. Or you may want to print out summary reports to hand out in the courtroom without any of the highlighting and notes you made while working on the case.

5. Negotiate ahead of time with opposing counsel

Of course, your opposition is going to complicate your job considerably. Lawyers and paralegals can expect to get designations and updates from opposing counsel right up to the last minute.

It’s important to know the format in which you’ll receive depositions from opposing counsel. To keep matters as simple as possible, you should agree on this format at your Rule 26(f) Meet and Confer at the beginning of ediscovery.

There are a few different file types that depositions typically come in. A PTX or TXT file contains only the deposition transcript, while a LEF file features the transcript with links to relevant exhibits throughout the text.

A CMS file encompasses the transcript synced with the video. Receiving this file type from opposing counsel will allow you to easily use features like synced playback and the detailed reports described above. This way, you can hone in on the issues of the case without being inhibited by technical complications.

Preparation is Key

Many of these features may seem small or of only mild importance on their own. But when you’re trying to manage hundreds of deposition designations and last minute edits before rushing into court, these tips, when taken together, can help make or break your case. Whatever ediscovery software you use, make sure you understand the features it offers to help you stay organized and efficient when managing depositions.