Should Paralegals Participate in Depositions?

Esquire Deposition Solutions The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct recently considered an interesting issue related to deposition practice: whether or not nonlawyers such as paralegals can ethically participate in pretrial depositions. The board decided in Taking of a Deposition by a Paralegal or Out-of-State Lawyer (Ohio Board of Professional Conduct, No. 2022-13) that they may not … under… Continue reading Should Paralegals Participate in Depositions?

How Many Depositions Are Enough?

Esquire Deposition Solutions 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 increased (or decreased) by stipulation, by court order, and by local court rule. In fact,… Continue reading How Many Depositions Are Enough?

Will AI Deposition Assistants Be Ethical?

Esquire Deposition Solutions By now most lawyers are familiar with the story of DoNotPay, the company that promised to provide a traffic offense defendant with a “robot lawyer” to fight the ticket in court. The plan went like this: The defendant would be assisted at trial by generative artificial intelligence tools (e.g., ChatGPT and DaVinci) that… Continue reading Will AI Deposition Assistants Be Ethical?

Quick Tips for Ethical, Effective Deposition Witness Prep

Esquire Deposition Solutions If the word “Shaq” conjures up the image of professional basketball legend and amiable IcyHot liniment pitchman Shaquille O’Neal, you could be missing out on a valuable mnemonic device for preparing witnesses for deposition: Short Honest Answers to Appropriate Questions, or SHAQ. In a deposition, a short answer gives the other side as little… Continue reading Quick Tips for Ethical, Effective Deposition Witness Prep

Eight Ethical Pitfalls to Avoid at Your Next Deposition

Esquire Deposition Solutions The line dividing zealous advocacy and professional misconduct can be hard to spot, and it can appear with little advance notice during a heated moment in litigation. This is particularly true in pretrial depositions, which take place without judicial supervision and where the lawyers are left to call their own balls and… Continue reading Eight Ethical Pitfalls to Avoid at Your Next Deposition

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