A deposition is a formal, legal proceeding that occurs frequently in civil litigation lawsuit. It is one of the most important components of what is known as the discovery phase of a lawsuit. The discovery phase is designed to allow each party to the lawsuit to find out the facts, documents, photographs, testimony, voicemails, emails, etc. upon which the opposing parties are basing their claims and/or defenses.

A deposition can make or break your case whether you are a plaintiff (i.e., the person bringing/filing the lawsuit) or a defendant (i.e. the sole person and/or business being sued or one of several people and/or businesses being sued).

Depositions are not limited to just the parties to a lawsuit. Anyone the attorneys believe may have information helpful to their respective clients’ case may be deposed. If you are going to have your deposition taken, you are required by law to be given official, legal notice, which you will receive in the mail in the form of what is called a Notice of Deposition. If you receive a Notice of Deposition you are required by law to appear at the specified date, time and location.

If you have received a Notice of Deposition and you are not a party to the lawsuit in question, none of the lawyers present at the deposition will be representing you. Do not assume otherwise no matter how friendly or helpful any of the lawyers may be prior to your deposition. If you feel you need to be represented by an attorney, you have the legal right to hire one and have him or her present to represent and protect your interests at the deposition.

During your deposition, every word of every question you are asked and every word of every answer you give will be transcribed (i.e., typed) by a court reporter. The purpose of a deposition is two-fold; to find out exactly what you know and to pin you down to that testimony if you try to change it at trial. That’s why your deposition is critically important – especially if you are a party to the lawsuit.

It may sound easy – just walk in and tell the truth – but it’s not. There are two (and often many more) lawyers present and a court reporter and often the parties to the lawsuit too. It’s a very tense atmosphere with a lot riding on it for all the parties. You are sworn in before you begin and have to swear to tell the truth. Everyone in the room is hanging on your every word. It’s nerve wracking, especially when you know every word you say in your deposition can and will be used against you at trial if at all possible. To make matters worse, the lawyer taking your deposition will have years, usually decades, of experience in taking depositions. He will know how to trip you up, get you to say things that are not accurate and otherwise make you look bad without you even knowing it. Often, you will not find out until the case goes to trial, at which time the attorney, who you thought was so pleasant during your deposition, turns into a pit bull and goes for your throat.

For excellent advice about how to negotiate the deposition minefield, dark secrets about depositions that no lawyer will tell you, and other helpful strategies, please visit our website at www.depositionrescue.com.

Jeff L. Williams is a former trial attorney and co-founder of New Media Legal Publishing.