044: Using Deposition Objections as a Band-Aid

Are you using objections as a band-aid for a lack of preparation? 

You may be sitting in a deposition where you’re taking the deposition of the defendant. Then as you’re asking tough questions or questions that get to the heart of the case, the defense lawyer would suddenly pop up and say, "Objection Form." Defense lawyers use this as a tactic to send a message to the witness. The defendant would then respond by saying they don't recall. 

This is a cycle that we see pretty often in depositions and it can get frustrating as a lawyer. But what happens when you're using the objection form as a band-aid for preparation? 

In today's episode, we are going to look at this very mechanical piece of depositions: objections. Specifically, we're going to be looking at the objection form used during a client deposition. In Texas practice, for example, this is the only permissible objection under our civil procedural rules, and this is the same way in most jurisdictions. 

And so, you want to make sure that the client gets the questions that they can answer, or at least neutralize them. But you don't have to jump in and hit the Objection Form button. That’s why it’s very important to have a checklist of things so you come to depositions confident and prepared.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What happens if you don’t have enough depositions
• When you’re raising the red flag, everybody sees it
• The importance of creating a checklist for deposition
• How to create a checklist to prepare for deposition

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Supporting Resources:

040: Guest Interview Michael Neff: Client Deposition Preparation in Premises Liability Cases

https://larricklawfirm.com/guest-michael-neff-client-deposition-preparation-in-premises-liability-cases/ 

If you have questions or a particularly challenging client preparation, email Elizabeth directly for assistance: [email protected].

Episode Credits

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