Depositions are part of the trial preparation process and can make or break a legal case. Deposition transcription is important as though depositions are out-of-court statements, lawyers may be able to use them effectively in the trial. Let’s take a look at what legal experts have to say about conducting an effective deposition.
- Be professional: The young lawyer should be clear about the purpose of the deposition and prepare well to conduct it. The facts and circumstances of every case are different, and so the purpose of depositions would vary from among cases. The lawyer should be clear about the purpose of the deposition – whether it is to collect information, to get specific admissions of key facts, or to preserve testimony for later use at trial. To maximize the effectiveness of the testimony and achieve the best possible results, it is important to clearly define your objectives. Knowing the case and the documents can help frame the right questions.
- Ask precise questions: Phrasing the questions correctly is necessary if the testimony is to be used at the trial. Precise questions can elicit clean answers and result in quality deposition transcripts.
- Know the witness: Consider if the deponent is an adverse party, an unfavorable witness or a friendly witness. The lawyer should not allow the deponent to detract from the purpose of the deposition. If the deponent is an expert in a particular area, the lawyer should be familiar with terms and phrases that are used in the expert’s profession in order to ask the right follow-up questions.
- Listen to the witness’s answers: If the lawyer focuses only on asking questions without listening to the deponent’s answers, the deposition will be a failure. By listening to the answers, the lawyer can come up with valid follow-up questions. While preparing the outline is necessary, deviating with proper follow-up questions will improve the quality of the deposition.
Deposition transcription by a professional legal transcription company will ensure an accurate record of the biographical information on the people involved in the case, as well as the questions and answers about the charges in the lawsuit.
