Using Documents in Client Deposition Preparation: What to Know

In today’s episode, we are going to focus on documents in deposition preparation, focusing on clients, not experts. This is an important but highly ignored topic, mainly because as lawyers, we have easy privileges and we don’t get any pushback. However, there may be situations where it’s a really close call. 

No matter where you are in terms of knowledge on this topic or even experience, this is a good refresher because we’re looking at situations and cases that are involving volumes of documents. Think about a business dispute, a personal injury case, or lots of medical records. Think about an employment case where there’s a huge volume of employment files to go through. 

Traditionally, when we’re getting ready for deposition prep, we’re going to use documents to help refresh the client’s memory. Generally speaking, several months or even years can lapse in these lawsuits before the deposition comes around. We want to specifically show pages to the client because we know that they’re going to be scrutinized over what’s in the documents. And so, we want to review them because document questions can be tricky. 

In this episode, you will hear:

• The importance of reviewing documents for deposition preparation
• The role of the lawyer-client privilege
• The communication piece of the lawyer-client privilege
• The work product piece of the lawyer-client privilege
• Determining whether it’s worth the fight

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Supporting Resources:

For Texas lawyers:

Lawyer-Client Privilege Texas Rule of Evidence 503

https://casetext.com/rule/texas-court-rules/texas-rules-of-evidence/article-v-privileges/rule-503-lawyer-client-privilege 

Work Product Privilege Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 192.5

https://casetext.com/rule/texas-court-rules/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure/part-ii-rules-of-practice-in-district-and-county-courts/section-9-evidence-and-discovery/discovery/rule-192-permissible-discovery-forms-and-scope-work-product-protective-orders-definitions 

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their businesses and impact the world.

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