Devil in the Details: Gilbert King on Truth and Transparency in the Judicial Process
How long does an appeal in a federal criminal case take?
Behind every winning argument is a compelling story. But crafting that narrative is not as simple as piecing together a few pieces of evidence. Legal teams have to prepare for and take depositions, manage transcripts, conduct...more
The pen is mightier than the sword in a courtroom. Legal decisions can pivot on a single word or comma in a contract or transcription, and adding multiple languages to the mix multiplies the possibility of inadvertent...more
Imagine a legal case where the official transcript is riddled with errors—witness statements are misquoted, key details are missing, and timelines are scrambled. Now, imagine an attorney building their entire case strategy on...more
Nearly 150 years after Miles Bartholomew introduced the first shorthand machine, the various technologies and tools utilized to record court proceedings and legal matters continue evolving. Today, realtime deposition...more
Use the right tools to analyze your deposition transcripts and build a winning case story. As we mentioned in Part 1, there are many important tasks and responsibilities involved in a litigation matter, but telling a...more
When preparing for trial, depositions play a foundational role, critical to the discovery phase. After the deposition, having a succinct, accurate deposition summary is a strategic component of developing and refining case...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
Here’s how to take advantage of deposition transcript software to level up your transcript management process. There are many important tasks and responsibilities involved in a litigation matter, but telling a story is a...more
Embrace the New Archetype in Transcript Management and Supercharge Your Outdated Litigation Process - Deposition transcripts have played a key role in case building since the dawn of our modern legal system. But the ways...more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the genie let out of the proverbial bottle, moving at a technological speed that makes it difficult to keep up with emerging developments. For court reporting, AI can decrease costs of...more
What do music composers, biochemists, and lawyers have in common? All three professions rely on transcription—an accurate capture of either musical notes, DNA nucleotides, or spoken words. The classic definition of...more
Deposition transcripts, like other pretrial discovery materials, do not become public records until they’re filed with the court. Before they are filed with the court, they routinely dwell in obscurity, shielded from public...more
A verbatim, accurate transcription is critical for depositions, trials, and other legal proceedings. The word choice of a single witness or attendee can affect a negotiation and settlement, trial strategy and outcome, witness...more
In the federal system, deposition testimony often provides crucial evidentiary support for summary judgment motions— a key procedural device for narrowing contested issues that require trial or, in some cases, eliminating the...more
Depositions allow attorneys to gather important information from witnesses before a court trial begins. As such, these official proceedings are the cornerstones of the discovery phase of a legal case. Although both...more
“I shot the clerk?” Or was it “I shot the clerk.” Accurate punctuation can affect the guilt or innocence of a litigant. Punctuation can also save lives: “Let’s eat, grandma,” or “Let’s eat grandma.”...more
The COVID-19 pandemic augmented our increasingly virtual world. As such, the plethora of data at our fingertips has changed. Business Insider reported that Zoom meeting participants rose from 10 million in December 2019 to...more
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...more
The world is headed back to trial, but some things have changed. Virtual and hybrid depositions have become the new standard, even after mandated social distancing has abated – and for litigators, there are many nuances to...more
Conducting remote depositions during the COVID-19 pandemic required attorneys to litigate cases under unfamiliar circumstances as everyone coped with social distancing and other government health mandates fashioned in...more
Spreadsheets and word processors were not designed for collecting and organizing documents for deposition or trial preparation. Manual workflows of toggling between spreadsheets and email to copy-and-paste Bates numbers,...more
For litigation attorneys, the wrap-up process at the close of a deposition is a familiar scenario: The taking attorney will state that he or she has no further questions, after the opposing attorneys have done the same. The...more