Customer Reviews

Nolo's Deposition Handbook (2nd Edition)

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As a monitor of the information desk at the Harold Washington Library, Chicago's main library, I regularly make referrals to people looking for all kinds of information. Whenever I'm asked about books on depositions, the first one that comes to mind is "The Deposition Handbook: A Guide To Help You Give A Winning Deposition," by Virginia A. Lathan.

But recently I also came across this book, "Nolo's Deposition Handbook," and I'm thoroughly impressed by the in-depth information it contains on all aspects of the deposition process. Not only is the book well written, but it also has a useful glossary for readily looking up legal terms. It also contains numerous examples of what the author is trying to convey. Additionally, it's well indexed. I particularly found the appendices helpful, because they contain excerpts from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and also web site addresses for obtaining information about discovery rules for particular states. I think this book would be a tremendous asset for parties to a lawsuit, people who represent themselves in court, and even lawyers who need to refresh themselves on the many aspects of depositions.

However, because the book is so thorough, I will still recommend people check out Virginia Lathan's book. Her simple-and-concise book reminds me of "Cliff Notes," those handy little pamphlets that highlight key points and make it easier to navigate your way through the voluminous writings of complete texts. For that reason, I suggest that you consider purchasing both books, because when thy're used in unison, you'll have all the reference books you need to help you give a winning deposition.

As a matter of fact, in one of his other books, "Represent Yourself in Court" (2nd edition), Paul Bergman highly praised Virginia Lathan's "Deposition Handbook."

As typical from Nolo press writers, this is a very effective book well structured and with useful materials.
The framework given is very practical and applicable. I strongly recommend for anyone involved in a deposition.
Just to give the proof, it helped me to face 3 days of deposition by a nasty attorney as under handed as you can get....I survived it.
Thanks to the authors and in all cases, be prepared !

The two authors are law professors at UCLA, and their talent for weaving essential content into mnemonic, entertaining bites shines in this book. I'm not personally familiar with the law faculty at UCLA, but most likely they don't retain the ignorant and misinformed, in turn implying that these folks must know what they are writing about.

General ideas are followed by nutshell examples that fix the concept in mind in a way easily remembered. Names in the examples are simply charming. For example, there is Jerry Atric and a wrongfully discharged employee named Mal Treeted. We also hear the brief story of a software contractor named Evan Elpus suing Mackrosoft and deposing vice president Jenny Daynow and the President, Noah Way. Stupid, yes, and also funny.

I'm mostly interested in the single chapter specifically for expert witnesses, easily worth the price of the entire book for me. For example, the tip about preparation for a deposition cautions about what documents to review and not review. Anything you review to refresh your recollection is discoverable. Documents otherwise not available to the other side may thus become available if you carelessly refer to them in preparation for a deposition. Small detail, but potentially vital. Generally, any documents in your file you bring to a deposition are subject to discovery and the other attorney is apt to have copies made of the entire file. Other advice is to keep a chronological file so you can keep dates and times easily reportable. There are many more nuggets for expert witnesses, although this is only one chapter.

Part one is for deponents: 1) Overview, 2) Use in a Lawsuit, 3) Preparation, 4) Responding to Questions, 5) Beginnings, "the usual admonitions", 6) Background questions, 7) Refusing to answer questions, and 8) Expert witnesses.

Part 2 is doing depositions when you represent yourself. Although interesting to read, if I were ever involved in a lawsuit important enough to involve depositions, I would want an attorney representing me. Even if depositions were not involved, if it is a lawsuit, I would personally want to be represented by an attorney.

This book will certainly assuage the fears of unrepresented parties or witnesses faced with the daunting task of getting deposed by an attorney. It explains what a depositions is, how it will proceed, and some of the boilerplate content of the deposition itself. For example, the usual admotions are covered such as letting the questiner finish the question before responding, along with some common background questions such as eduactional background. Knowing what to expect ahead of time will surely make the deponant feel more comfortable in the actual deposition.

My only criticism of this guide, is that it's a little weak on advice for the actual guts of the deposition. You get 30 pages of common sense tips and that's it. Understand the question, provide a clear answer, and don't let them restate your testimony by putting words in your mouth. Any questions? Yeah, about 5,000! It's a start though, and the book does provide coverage on a lot of other helpful topics like taking depositions, defending depositions, and the discovery process generally.

Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone faced with a deposition who's wondering, "what the heck is gonna happen there?" For strategy, I'd look elsewhere.

This book provides an adequate overview of depositions. Depositions are a form of discovery, that is fact finding in civil cases. The author covers the standardsincluing deciding who to depose, subpoenas,common objections, structuring questions and scheduling depositions. the focus is on federal procedure which is understandable condidering the intricacies of individual state laws and rules. There are examples which help clarify some of the points and techniques. While it is a suitable introduction, it would be a mistake to think reading this book would make one qualified jto take a deposition.

Swimming with sharks is not advisable unless you are a killer whale. Depositions are a crucial and without the proper strategy can cost the uninitiated the case. I am not saying that people should never proceed pro se,just that when the stakes are high it is best to go with a professional. Rules and laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. There are elements that are crucial to every cause of action and the development of facts must be done strategically. That being said, this book does provide a nice overview but is far from the end all.

Most non-lawyers have never taken part in a deposition, and fewer would want to. And without a doubt one element that makes the legal system such a confusing and intimidating maze for the non-practitioner is the complexity and opacity of the rules and procedures, simply the anxiety of not knowing how things are done; where lawyers who do this sort of thing on a regular basis are much more comfortable with a set of arcane procedures and know that the non-lawyers are nervous and vulnerable even before they sit down.

This book will not make depositions an enjoyable or rewarding experience for the non-lawyer, but it will do a lot to dispell some of the mystery and intimidating aspects of the procedure. Each step of a deposition is clearly laid out; who does what, why, in generally what order, and the significance of one's own preparation and conduct. A deposition is, much more often than not, the only chance parties to a civil case will get to testifying, as something better than 90% of all cases are settled prior to an actual trial, so it is critical to understand the deposition phase of a case.

While there are chapters on most potential elements or aspects of the deposition, including video and written transcripts, expert testimony, taking and giving a deposition, and so on, the most important parts of the book focus on self-preparation. This most definitely includes reviewing and getting one's own story straight, and listening extremely carefully to each and every question. A chapter on lawyerly tricks or practices deployed to trip one up is well worth reading. Simply being aware of what is going on, taking one's time answering, and being concise and direct are what depositions are all about; there is no room for long-winded self-examination, moralizing, and so on. Too many people seem to want to make friends, justify themselves, or browbeat others; that will only hurt you here.

This book cannot make your case for you; but it does give the reader a certain confidence with at least the procedure to be followed when that time comes, and that's worth something.

Depositions are part of the arcane ritual of American litigation. I was recently deposed (as an expert witness) and found the book full of practical information. I can recommend it to anyone unfamiliar with the process.

Nolo Press has a good assortment of books on legal topics aimed at non-lawyers. This book explores the ins and outs of depositions. As a handbook, it gives advice on how to prepare for depositions and participate in them. Very hands-on advice with little legal analysis. Just right for those fairly new to the topic.

Nolo's Deposition Handbook will not turn you into a legal star. But the advice it gives is very practical. Like all Nolo Press products, it is well written by experienced people. If you are facing a deposition, this book will prepare you for the experience. That will help a lot.

This book provides a lot of information but not always sage advice (i.e., advice as a practicing attorney that I would agree with).
The best thing to do is get a good attorney (a rare commodity) who is familiar with depositions (i.e., a litigation or trial lawyer who does them frequently), then discuss your upcoming deposition with him/her.
This book is very generalized and some of the tips may not apply in your situation or may even work to your disadvantage. There are also some tips that I generally provide that are missing entirely from this book.

I'm going to make an assumption that if you're considering purchasing this book, you are most likely someone who is about to be deposed (the book will explain that you are the deponent). If you are, then I recommend reading this book. I am not a lawyer, but I have been deposed several times as both a material witness and an expert witness in civil and criminal cases and I cannot tell you how much I wish I had read a book like this BEFORE the deposition.

One of the strengths of this book is that it honestly reveals how the deposition can be a treacherous whitewater river that at first is disguised as gentle waters. Nice rooms, cups of water or coffee, comfy chairs, smiling lawyers. But beneath this facade is an event designed to do one thing: get you to say something that will make someone's case, often on a technicality, and often by "tripping you up" by invoking contradictory testimony later. While this book can't cover all scenarios, it does an excellent job preparing you for the more common ways you can be caught in this maelstrom of legal tricks.

This book explains the process, the players, the rules-of-the-game, and helps prepare you for how to respond and behave in high pressure situations. The book can help you know what to do when the lawyer asks you a question with a false premise ("when did you stop beating your wife?"), or when you don't remember something, or when you need to refer to materials to refresh your memory. Most importantly, through hypothetical dialogs, it helps you see how skillful lawyers can lead your answers to the direction they want. These sample dialogs are the most instructive part of the book, as they give you a real feel for how seemingly simple questions and answers build upon each other to create a story that may or may not be what you intended.

As one would expect from the NOLO line, terms are nicely explained and made accessible to non-lawyers. The writing style is simple and straightforward, without unnecessary flourishes or sensationalism. And, like other NOLO books, the authors make it clear that this is ONLY an introduction to the topic. I can tell you from experience it is critical to work with your lawyer (or the lawyer whose party considers you supportive of their case) to prepare for any given deposition. For example, in my own experience with medically-related depositions, only a one-on-one with the lawyer helped prepare me for questions such as establishing a book as authoritative (which has a specific legal meaning different than how we use the word in regular conversation) or the difference between answering "yes" vs. "it's my usual practice." This book is great, but won't replace individual preparation.

I should mention that a secondary intended audience are people who are deposing another party on their own, acting in effect as their own lawyer (the book will explain this is called pro se). As I am not a lawyer, I can't say whether this book would be sufficient to go it on your own, but I myself would be leery of going solo. It feels to me a little too much like "kids, don't try this at home." Yet, if I were considering it, this is a great place to start the research into the methods.

Finally, while not explicitly addressed, another audience for this book includes writers or others who want to add some verisimilitude to their depictions of the deposition process. This book would be very helpful in that context.