Every once in a while you see an article that you wish you had seen years ago. This story is about one of those.
We've had lots of depositions where the opposing attorney obstructed and interfered with a smooth orderly deposition before. You can takes years, and dozens of depositions, before you begin to figure out how to deal with some of these people. Or you can check out the Ohio Trial "Abusive Deposition Tactics" article published in the Winter 2008 issue by Ohio Association for Justice.
Authored by attorney Rebecca Castell and attorney Raymond Tisone, you'll get great examples and tips, with lots of references to the Civil Rules. If you haven't seen it, go online here to find out how to join OAJ and get a copy. The OAJ membership cost is worth it just to get a copy of this article alone.
The topic is similar to Salt Lake City attorney Robert Sykes' article in The Utah Trial Lawyers Association, December 4, 2003 title "Abusive Deposition Objections: How To Ethically Even the Playing Field" which is another good article on this topic.
A classic example of "lawyers gone wild" appears on YouTube here. If you haven't seen the off-screen fight between two lawyers, and the hapless witness caught in between, it's worth a look. It's a great example of what not to do.
If you've been lucky and have not had to deal with an opposing counsel who abuses the deposition process, then now is a good time to read the OAJ article. You don't want to be reading it later and mumbling to yourself "so that's what I should have done."
