Drafting a precise deposition summary is a critical part of the litigation process. It can make or break a case, and it’s important to get it right. Here are seven facts to keep in mind when drafting a depo summary:
- A deposition is the formal testimony of a witness taken before trial by one or more attorneys representing opposing sides in a lawsuit.
- A deposition summary is a document that summarizes the information from a deposition. It’s used as a reference for attorneys, witnesses, and judges.
- Deposition summaries are used when witnesses are going to testify in court, but not immediately after they have been deposed. This is because they don’t want to risk having their testimony change between when they were deposed and when they testify at trial.
- The summary should be written using plain English and not legal jargon, as it will be read by a jury or judge.
- You should always use a checklist when drafting your precise deposition summary. This will help you ensure that you’re covering all of the key points in the deponent’s testimony and that it’s been accurately transcribed from the audio recording of their testimony.
- It’s important that you don’t leave anything out of your summary because any omission could affect how well your case is presented to a jury or judge later on down the road; this could mean losing important evidence or even losing custody of your children if they’re involved in litigation too.
- Deposition summaries should include an introduction that sets forth how long the witness testified and how many pages of transcript were read into evidence at trial; a list of all exhibits that were admitted into evidence; information regarding objections made during the deposition; any stipulations between parties regarding what will or will not be admitted into evidence; whether any objections were sustained or overruled by the court; an indication of any material changes in testimony from what was given at the deposition; and any other relevant information such as whether there was any stipulation about what portions of the transcript would be read into evidence at trial.
Bottomline
We hope that this list of seven facts about drafting a deposition summary has been both useful and interesting. And as always, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the article that inspired this list, which discusses how to create a deposition summary.
Author Bio-
Sheila LaCivita is the owner of 4 Corners Depo. She got a paralegal degree with distinction from UCLA and has been helping lawyers with deposition summaries. She wants to share her knowledge and experience with others.
