Litigating in the Virtual World: Passing Fad or Wave of the Future?
Sitting with the C-Suite: The New Normal - Embracing Remote Technology
VIRTUAL ADR UPDATE – TECHNOLOGY, CYBERSECURITY AND UNIQUE ISSUES PRESENTED BY HON. JOHN P. DIBLASI
Sitting with the C-Suite: COVID 19 Impact – Four Sectors of Change for the Legal Industry
Trial outcomes often hinge on witness testimony. Attorneys collect much of this testimony during a formal process called a deposition. A critical component of discovery, depositions traditionally occur in law offices or...more
The apex deposition doctrine is a judge-made rule that protects company executives from harassing, repetitive depositions in cases in which the executive has little relevant evidence to provide. Courts applying the doctrine...more
Revised Minnesota pretrial discovery rules, which took effect Jan. 1, now encourage remote depositions by allowing them to be set by notice alone. Former practice required either a court order or stipulation....more
Last week’s blog recounted the story of a litigator surprised by the unannounced, off-camera presence of the witness’s mother in the room during her son’s remote deposition. That should never have happened and, in modern...more
Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 30.02 has been amended to expressly authorize parties to conduct depositions via remote technology and require a party seeking to take a deposition to elect between deposing in-person or...more
It’s a common practice during a deposition for lawyers to assert legal objections to witness testimony but then allow the deposition to proceed. In fact, this practice is broadly encouraged. Depositions are wide-ranging...more
The post-pandemic litigation environment has seen a rising desire to conduct depositions remotely and a diminishing opposition to remote proceedings. Where litigators do insist on in-person proceedings, those cases are...more
Depositions of witnesses residing in Mexico, at one time a relatively rare occurrence, are becoming commonplace for large law firm litigators. This is because many U.S.-based businesses have relocated manufacturing operations...more
Litigators don’t always have control over the outcome-determinative evidence in their cases. Often, contracts, accident reports, photographic images, and other critical bits of evidence have in most cases already been created...more
Are personal injury plaintiffs legally required to testify at their trials? Actually, not. Under the right circumstances, deposition testimony can be used in lieu of live trial testimony if the trial court finds that the...more
To their credit, experienced litigators are able to resolve the vast majority of pretrial discovery disputes without the need for court intervention. This is particularly true when the dispute in question is whether a...more
This guide provides legal professionals with an overview of how to prepare for and conduct remote depositions in a world that is increasingly adopting hybrid and virtual work environments. By using these best practices,...more
We’ve written previously about sanctions that trial courts can impose on parties that, for no good reason, fail to appear for a properly noticed deposition. Courts are understandably impatient with parties that throw sand in...more
It all starts with a notice. In modern civil litigation, the notice of deposition is the principal means for litigators to ensure that the objectives of deposing a witness are met in a timely, cost-effective, and lawful...more
As litigators know, the United States follows the so-called “American Rule” when apportioning the costs of litigation. Unless a statute specifically provides otherwise, parties in court are responsible for their own...more
If we can do weddings, funerals, healthcare, work, and trials via videoconference, surely we can do the same with depositions. And with that closing remark, a federal magistrate judge summarily dispatched one litigant’s...more
Broadly speaking, most personal injury claims survive the death of the plaintiff. They live on as survivor’s actions or wrongful death claims brought by representatives of the deceased plaintiff’s estate....more
In Client escapes sanction for lawyer’s refusal to appear on camera in Zoom deposition (abajournal.com)(Jan. 25, 2024,), Debra C. Weiss reported on Agnone v. Agnone, 2024 WL 242488 (Cal. App., 2d Dist., Jan. 23,...more
The last few years have seen rapid advancements in technological solutions across industries in response to the global pandemic and increasingly remote-friendly work culture. The legal industry is no different, as many...more
Reflection and anticipation—these words are especially resonant at this time of year. While we look back at the accomplishments and progress made in the last year, it’s important to prepare for the year ahead by identifying...more
Way back in April 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal magistrate judge in Colorado had already seen enough to offer the following plea that lawyers reassess their habit of traveling long distances...more
Depositions can be stressful affairs. For many witnesses, depositions are a once-in-a-lifetime plunge into the unknown with a lot riding on their testimony. Sitting in a room full of strangers, listening to lawyers argue over...more
No doubt remote deposition technology is compelling. Not only can remote depositions lower litigation spending and free up valuable attorney hours, they offer litigators the ability to efficiently depose witnesses located...more
Even today some attorneys approach remote depositions with a small measure of trepidation. They worry that the lack of physical proximity diminishes their ability to engage with the deponent. They wonder how they can...more
The following highlights several of the changes to the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure that went into effect on July 1, 2023. The changes impact, among other things, physical and remote appearance, the rules governing...more