There are things you should do at your deposition and things you should not do. An Irvine employment law attorney offers some guidelines to help you.

Helpful Hints

• Don’t continue to talk once you have given your reply. Counsel for the defense may try to provoke or trick you into further speech, but do not let them do this. Answer each question and let it go at that. When you come to the end of your answer, stop;
• Avoid guesses and qualifiers. There is nothing wrong with telling counsel that you cannot recall or do not know the answer to their question. Conjectures, guesses, ambiguities and speculations offer myriad chances to make mistakes, which damages your reliability and jeopardizes the value of your testimony. If you are asked about an incident but do not remember the time or date, say so and then describe what happened. Do not resort to qualifiers like “maybe,” “possibly” or other indefinite language. Only relate such information that you can speak of with certainty. Events that took place far in the past should be designated as such, and you should explain that given the time that has elapsed since the event, you cannot recall the date precisely;
• If your lawyer has told you to refrain from replying, do not reply. This is fairly self-explanatory. Your attorney will have reasons for telling you not to answer this or that question. Abide by his or her instructions;
• Take time to consider your answer before you begin to talk. Do not say anything that could be construed as belittling to others. Do not speak ill of your country, of any ethnic or minority group or anyone else. A record is being made of what you say. Be certain that you say nothing that could be taken down and used to your detriment. Further, it is simple courtesy to refrain from making racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive remarks; and
• Do not violate attorney-client privilege. Keep private anything you and your lawyer have discussed. This includes anything that was said between you and your attorney’s assistants and office personnel. Anything said in your lawyer’s office must remain there.

Seek Representation Now
If you are involved in an employment-related case, you should engage the services of an experienced employment lawyer. Call Daily Aljian LLP at 949-861-2524 and get the help you need.