Dirty Deposition Tricks--and How to Deal with Them

Recommended reading: "Deposition Tricks: The Dirty Dozen," by Neil J. Dillof.

This article, which first appeared in The Maryland Bar Journal, describes twelve nefarious ploys that lawyers often use to gain an unfair advantage at depositions.

Examples: Intentionally trying to anger the witness in an attempt to get him to forget his pre-deposition preparation, asking convoluted questions loaded with unstated and damaging assumptions, and acting bored as a way of distracting the questioning lawyer.

After describing each trick, the author proposes an "antidote" for dealing with the situation.

First seen at Overlawyered.