Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

Gerry Spence advised an approach to taking the deposition of a fact witness (non-expert) that emphasized conversational inquiry rather than confrontational questioning. His approach was to have a demeanor that was calm and non-threatening with the witness. In practice, a Spence deposition was much more like a conversation than an interrogation. That relaxed demeanor influenced the witness to say far more than they planned. He argued “The deposition is not the place to win the case.”  He recommended that lawyers…

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                               I have had the issue of the defense or insurance company hiring someone to spy on my client in the hopes it will show the client is not hurt as badly as claimed. What follows is the raw memo I developed in anticipation of creating a deposition outline. You hopefully may create ideas from it if you have the issue. (FRAME AS: “tailing, stakeout, spying, tracking, snooping, secretly watching, sneak, peeping Tom, prying, invading privacy”) INTRODUCTION . 1.Name,…

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The coronavirus situation has had a dramatic impact on the processing of damage cases. Requirements for social distancing and, in some states, requirements to shelter at home have brought the judicial process to a halt. In many jurisdictions’ trials have been stopped and courthouses virtually closed. However, there is a need for ongoing discovery procedures to preserve evidence in anticipation of when trials will resume. One possible solution involves remote teleconferencing meetings and teleconferencing depositions. Technology allows one to connect…

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