Zoom Deposition Tips – Round 1

 

With more depositions being held via Zoom, it’s important to remind your client of some tips that will support successful testimony in this format.

1. We’ve all become used to the casual nature of Zoom meetings in our kitchens and living rooms. However, when it comes to a deposition, just because it’s Zoom, doesn’t mean you can testify in your sweats. It’s important to dress professionally or conservatively, at least from the waist up. So that means no bare arms for men or women, no vivid patterns that would distract from the substance of the testimony, and that all clothing be clean and pressed.

2. We’ve all seen the bloopers online from people on Zoom meetings who forgot to close the kitchen/living room/bedroom door, allowing errant children/pets to wander in. Or a spouse who’d forgotten there was a meeting going on and appeared in his/her PJs yelling a reminder of some chore or task. Tell your client to alert household members to the meeting, and close the door. Perhaps with a sign on it “Meeting in Session.” Bloopers are funny online, not so much when they disrupt the flow of a deposition.

More tips to come next month, stay tuned!

In the meantime, best wishes for Happy Holidays.

Handling the Worried Insecure Client

 

Clients are in a dither these days. Too much uncertainty, too many decisions to make with what often feels like too little information and too much chaos.

No big surprise that their resulting insecurity often spills over into their interactions with you. But here’s the thing. You have umpteen matters on your plate and are in the same place of uncertainty as everyone else. It’s therefore tempting, when your client unloads yet another worry on you to yell, “Get over it! It’s been a hellish year for all of us!” However, since you can’t do that, you are sometimes reduced to the platitudinous “Everything’s fine, trust me.”

Not a good idea. Such a statement will only aggravate the client’s anxiety because if they believed everything was fine, they wouldn’t be anxious in the first place. Instead, bite the bullet, and with as much compassion as you can muster, acknowledge your client’s anxiety. “It’s normal to feel anxious. These are worrisome times.” Let them respond, and then come back with a similar reassuring phrase until you sense that your client’s anxiety is somewhat diminished. At that point, and only at that point, is it useful to say something like “I’ve got things well in hand, and I am confident we will see this matter through successfully.”

More than anything, people need to feel heard. Let your client know that you really do “hear” him, emotionally as well as with your ears. You will have a much improved relationship with that client.

Here's a link to an article on how what a witness wears in court can make a difference. The article appeared in The Legal Examiner. I had the pleasure to contribute to the piece.

https://bit.ly/3ngFFXh

For Deposition/Negotiation Success: Speak to the Jurors

 

Your client is a rational, mature businessperson. You expect them to do well at their upcoming deposition. After all, they have plenty of real-world experience, and of course, you go over the facts of the case with them as well as some deposition basics. You are subsequently horrified when they waffle, or get angry, or are evasive, or volunteer or do any of the multitude of the other communication sins that constitute poor testimony.

But here’s the thing. Whether your witness is a CEO or a homemaker, he or she must be prepared as rigorously for deposition as if they were going to trial. Even though, these days, trial is highly unlikely. Why? Because trial or no trial, depositions are critical to your effectiveness in negotiating the best possible settlement for your client. Yet time after time, lawyers fail to prepare witnesses sufficiently for deposition. The reasons are simple. Too much to do, too little time. 

Here's a tip. Tell your witness that although it may seem like he/she is responding to opposing counsel’s questions, in truth, the witness is addressing the jurors. It doesn’t matter whether or not the matter ever gets to trial, when the witness responds as if he/she is speaking to jurors - being informative rather than defensive, polite and even-tempered despite opposing counsel’s ploys - the quality of testimony improves dramatically, and with that, far greater chances of your (and their!) success.