Podcast - "Ready for Trial?"
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 311: Spotlight on Criminal Law (Part 1)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 310: Listen and Learn -- Accomplice Liability (Criminal Law)
The Future of Litigation: Adapting to the Era of Nuclear Verdicts
Podcast - Every Case Is a New World
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 309: Listen and Learn -- Felony Murder and Causation (Criminal Law)
Podcast - The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Do the Right Thing
The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Tell Your Story
Podcast - The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Know Your Court
Podcast - Real Justice for Real People
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 305: Spotlight on Civil Procedure (Part 2 – Discovery)
There Is No Right Path
Mock Jury Exercises: Enhancing Litigation Strategy in Consumer Financial Services Cases — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Eyes on the Evidence: Powerful Legal Presentations – Speaking of Litigation Video Podcast
Podcast - How Did We Get Here?
Podcast - Parting Thoughts: Be a "Peddler of Common Sense"
Against All Odds- Part Four
Against All Odds- Part Three
Against All Odds- Part One
The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 56 - A Strategic Gamble: The Risks, Costs and Rewards of Going to Trial
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 Reptile Theory is a litigation strategy intended to activate jurors’ survival instincts during trial and is designed to induce fear over logic and reason when hearing a case. Rather than focusing on the standard of care...more
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
Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! This is the second of three episodes in which we review the substantive Civil Procedure law we've covered in our "Listen and Learn" series. This time we're talking about...more
Noticing a deposition is a critical part of the litigation process. Far from just a formality, it’s an assurance that a deposition you’re engaging in is being done fairly and in good faith. By giving all interested parties...more
The blog post Turning Deposition No-Shows to the Client’s Advantage proved popular with our readers when written (2021!) and for years afterward. The sustained readership of that article is gratifying but also disappointing...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
The receipt of a notice for a client’s deposition usually sets off a chain reaction of familiar events in most law offices across the country. The deposition is calendared. Materials requested in the notice or accompanying...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
A high school reunion can be a wonderful, surreal experience at best, and a handwringing, anxiety-ridden event at worst. During those formative years of our teenage lives, we were surrounded by – and spent countless hours...more
In civil litigation, depositions are a key pretrial discovery tool used to uncover facts, obtain admissions, gather evidence for motions, and assess witnesses. They prevent “trial by ambush” by revealing crucial information...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
Ten is the presumptive upper limit on the number of depositions that each party may take in civil litigation in the federal courts. This number, provided by Rule 30(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, can be...more
May 5, 2024 – Imports of TextMap Annotations Into OnCue As Deposition Designations - The OnCue trial electronic presentation software makes it easy to import deposition designations added as annotations in TextMap as new...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
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
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
The power of a well-written deposition summary is apparent to anyone who has ever successfully prepared for an examination. Busy students don’t have the time to re-read thousands of textbook pages and lecture notes. Nor do...more
The testimony given at a deposition vs. testimony during a trial have a lot in common. They’re both sworn under oath, under penalty of perjury, and part of official court records. There’s a longer list, however, of how they...more
A recent blog post here examined the circumstances under which a prevailing party in litigation can obtain reimbursement for deposition-related costs in federal courts. The rules are complicated, constrained by the statutory...more
There’s no denying it—artificial intelligence is changing the legal landscape. Generative AI and the use of machine learning promise to boost efficiency and reduce prep time through multiple phases of litigation. For...more
Dismissal of a lawsuit is a rare sanction for a discovery violation, but it happened recently in a workplace discrimination lawsuit, due in large part to two probing depositions that called into question one party’s assertion...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