Deposition preparation reviews the case background, the witness's own prior statements and documents, the likely areas of examination, and the mechanics of testifying: listening to the whole question, answering only what is asked, and acknowledging when they do not know or recall.
Counsel may prepare a witness on substance and manner but may not instruct a witness to testify falsely.
Alternative Names:
Witness Prep, Depo Prep
Why it Matters?
Preparation is where most deposition damage is prevented, particularly against safety-rule questioning that invites witnesses to endorse abstract absolutes they will be held to at trial. The recurring failures are over-explaining, speculating, and agreeing with generalized propositions. Corporate designees require a fundamentally different and longer preparation, since they must be educated on institutional knowledge rather than only their own.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Can counsel tell a witness what to say?
What is the most common preparation failure?
