Most people do not realize until it’s too late just how important their depositions are – i.e, until after they have been heavily impacted financially, often completely wiped out, because they did not know how to successfully navigate their depositions.

Depositions are Q&A sessions between you and the attorneys for every party to the lawsuit, each of whom is allowed to ask you anything even remotely related to the case. During your deposition, a court reporter will transcribe (i.e., type) every word of every question you are asked and every answer you give. Your deposition may also be videotaped and, if it is, that video will be used at trial to show how your trial testimony differs from your deposition testimony – thereby destroying your credibility as a witness, damaging your chances of prevailing in the lawsuit and often putting your property and other assets at risk to pay the judgment.

Witness preparation for a deposition, therefore, is a crucial element to succeeding in a civil lawsuit. Unfortunately, despite its vital importance, what most lawyers won’t tell you is that witness preparation for depositions is the single most neglected responsibility within the legal profession. Why is that? Because lawyers are constantly overbooked. They simply don’t have enough hours in the day.

If you are represented by an attorney and have not spent a minimum of two hours (for the most basic, straightforward case – and considerably more time for complex cases) with him or her doing nothing but preparing for your deposition, you are not adequately prepared for what undoubtedly will be one of the most stressful, most nerve-wracking experiences of your life.

Even if you have an attorney and he or she has spent a lot of time preparing you for your deposition, the best witness preparation available are deposition preparation videos. Videos allow you to see exactly what to expect so that when you walk into your deposition, you will not be surprised or nervous.

Don’t let inadequate witness preparation be your downfall. It’s very easy to do but equally easy to avoid. For an excellent example of a witness preparation video, visit Deposition Rescue. This video includes witness preparation advice for numerous types litigation, including:

• Antitrust
• Class Actions
• Construction
• Dog Bite
• Education Law
• Environmental Law
• First Amendment
• Insurance Coverage/Defense
• Intellectual Property
• Labor & Employment
• Landlord/Tenant
• Medical Malpractice
• Personal Injury
• Premises Liability
• Products Liability
• Real Estate
• SEC Litigation
• Toxic Tort
• White Collar/Investigations
• Worker’s Compensation
• Wrongful Death

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