When you are being deposed by opposing counsel, they will do their best to ensure that you say what they want to hear. In this article, an Irvine employment lawyer brings some of their favorite tricks to light so that you can avoid them.
Asking You If You Are Sure
Suppose for a moment that you have just answered a question and the defense counsel is dissatisfied with what you have said. In an effort to make you rethink or change your response, opposing counsel may employ the “Are you absolutely sure about that?” tactic. Don’t fall for it. Stand by your answer.
The Prolonged Stare
In this scenario, you have again given a reply that is not what the opposition wanted. So, he or she sits back in the chair and gazes at you without saying a word. This is intended to either encourage you to inadvertently volunteer additional information or to make you uncomfortable enough to doubt what you have already said. Again, don’t allow yourself to be taken in. Simply sit quietly until opposing counsel realizes that this tactic hasn’t fooled you.
The Set-up
Counsel for the defense may rapid-fire questions at you that you cannot reasonably be expected to be able to answer and then feign impatience when you can’t answer them. Again, this is a ploy. The idea is to confuse or embarrass you into believing that you ought to have this information or to trap you into guessing.
Twisting Your Words
Defense counsel may also try to trip you up by twisting your answer in such a way as to change the meaning and then make it appear as though it is what you actually said. Don’t let them do this to you.
Before You Are Deposed
Make the appropriate preparations:
• Know your complaint inside out, upside down, backwards and forwards. Study the deposition preparation letter carefully. Practice the particulars of your case and the overall premise until you have them fixed indelibly in your mind.
• List, in order of sequence, all of the incidents that comprise your case in writing. Then go over it until you have it sufficiently memorized so that you can give testimony without referring to any notes.
Make the Call
We’re here to help. Contact Daily Aljian LLP, your Irvine employment attorney, by calling 949-861-2524 today.