How To Prepare For And Give A Deposition Or Other Testimony - A Time To Be Very Careful And Prepared
In the course of a lawsuit, prior to trial, it is very common for a litigant, or non-party witness, to be called to an attorney’s office to give a Deposition. A Deposition is oral testimony with an attorney asking questions and the deponent (the individual being questioned) answering while a court reporter or tape recorder (or sometimes both) records the testimony. Deposition testimony is generally taken under oath, and the court reporter and the deponent often sign affidavits attesting to the accuracy of the subsequent printed transcript. Testimony given during a deposition under oath has the same weight and effect as testimony given in court before a judge or jury.
In other contexts, clients and witnesses are interviewed in numerous settings and expected to give honest testimony. These situations can range from an interview by an enforcement agency- such as FINRA or the Securities and Exchange Commission; a corporate internal investigation and many other times when someone is going to be asked questions and is expected to give truthful testimony that can, and often is, potentially used against them at some future point.
We have prepared some materials to help you better understand the process, what to expect and how to prepare for and give a Deposition or testimony under oath. First, here is a PDF file, you can read and print out, that contains our guidelines for how to give a Deposition or other testimony under oath:
In addition, click below to watch a short video explaining what happens during a Deposition and points out common mistakes made by persons giving a Deposition or providing testimony.
There also are many videos on YouTube under “how to give a deposition”. One example is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkuaBNpF1Q4.
There are others, but between the two videos above, and our firm’s guidelines on how to give testimony, you should be well prepared.
