Combating Obstructionism at Deposition

Transcription

1 OLI We raise the Bar oregon Law institute of Lewis & Clark Law school Two Half-Day Programs featuring Robert Musante Combating Obstructionism at Deposition 8:30 a.m. 12:15 p.m General MCLE Credits Great Adverse Depositions: Principles & Principal Techniques 1:15 4:45 p.m. 3.5 General MCLE Credits FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014 Ambridge Event Center 1333 ne martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Portland, oregon 97232

2 PROGRAM SCHEDULE Combating Obstructionism at Deposition 8:30 a.m. 12:15 p.m General MCLE Credits All across the country, obstructionism and advantage-seeking gamesmanship, tactically employed by the tag-team of adverse deponent and opposing attorney, are the bane of civil litigation undermining the cross-examiner s goal of crafting the clean deposition transcripts that are crucial to obtaining the favorable settlement or the trial victory. This one-of-a-kind seminar offers a comprehensive analysis of the techniques that best counter that obstructionism and gamesmanship. 8:00 a.m. CHECK-IN AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST 8:25 8:30 WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 8:30 10:00 A great adverse deposition defined Video of an archetypal question-dodging witness Cross-examiner s two lines of appeal to opposing attorney Combating obstructionism prior to the deposition day The real purposes of admonitions The very best set of admonitions and their rationale 10:00 10:15 BREAK 10:15 11:25 A brilliant (or crazy) corollary to the cooperation admonition Obstructionism re the deposition breaks Obstructionism re the production of documents at deposition The four legitimate grounds for opposing attorney s instruction not to answer a question The two deposition cultures 11:25 12:15 Cross-examiner s four failures re opposing attorney s objections A brilliant (or second crazy) idea re dealing with the persistently question-dodging witness Recording the deposition: the up-sides and the down-sides 12:15 p.m. ADJOURN QUEstIons? call (503) or (800) check out our website at or us at oli@lclark.edu.

3 Great Adverse Depositions: Principles & Principal Techniques 1:15 4:45 p.m. 3.5 General MCLE Credits More than any other aspect of pre-trial litigation, it is the skill attorneys wield when taking the depositions of adverse fact and expert witnesses that most dramatically impacts case outcome, whether by settlement or by trial. Period! This seminar wastes no time on entrylevel wisdom, code chatter, idiosyncratic war stories, or tired maxims. Instead, it brilliantly teaches how to take great adverse depositions every time out. Really! Great adverse depositions require the conscious and conscientious application of the integrated set of logical rules that constitute the discipline of deposition cross-examination, rules that best exploit case theory opportunities and best attack case theory problems. Few, if any, law schools and law firms recognize that deposition-taking is indeed an intellectually rigorous discipline if done right. Therefore, sadly, the vast majority of litigators practice for an entire career without ever truly understanding this crucial syllogism: Trial is argument. Deposition is trial. Thus, deposition is argument. 1:00 p.m. CHECK-IN 1:15 3:00 Deposition cross-examination: an intellectually rigorous discipline Battleships, the checklist of recurring deposition questions Four nearly-everybody-agrees deposition cross-examination rules The Grand Unified Theory of civil litigation Rationale re saving attacks for surprise at trial The can t-be-beat argument vs. the stupidest deposition orthodoxy Whack defined & demonstrated Seven advantages: deposition cross-examiner vs. trial crossexaminer When to ask leading questions in a deposition Exceptions to the leading question rule When the truth is not nearly enough 3:00 3:15 BREAK 3:15 4:45 Bluffing deponent into a damaging admission Deponent s escapes from answers to leading questions Using rhetoric to intensify arguments Reasoning questions Firewalling Interrogatory-like questions Universal & nail-down terms Enumeration Looping Getting adverse deponent to Yes! 4:45 p.m. ADJOURN

4 What Oregon Attorneys Have Said About Musante s Seminars Seminar included information I can use in every deposition. Musante is entertaining and attention-grabbing! Best one-day CLE I have been to. Very interesting and practical. At the top of trial related CLEs because it focuses on rules that can be used in any case, rather than on fact-specific war stories. Practical solutions to common problems effectively and passionately communicated. Excellent practical content. Musante is informative and educational. A lot more comprehensive in its information and techniques than most other seminars I ve been to. Practical content was A+. Robert Musante provides entertaining examples to demonstrate salient practice points; his teaching ability was extremely effective. One of the best, if not the best, that I ve been to. Wonderful made me really reconsider my standard practices. Excellent! Great concepts that attorneys taking depositions should put into practice for every deposition. Musante is also excellent great hypos, covers main points multiple times from multiple perspectives to ensure understanding. A+! Plain talk is a rarity in this profession and it is greatly appreciated. The seminar provided me with greater confidence to stick with my instincts and not follow the traditional methods I have witnessed with other attorneys. Very compelling presentation and fantastic format. Musante is excellent I enjoyed his presentation examples and teaching points. Very good seminar the skills for taking deposition distilled to understandable components, capable to being learned and applied.

5 About the Speaker Robert Musante is the nation s foremost teacher of deposition cross-examination. He has taught the logic essential to taking great adverse depositions of fact witnesses and experts to more than 45,000 litigators in 42 states. He has made in-house presentations to the attorneys-general of 11 states and to the partners and associates of 80+ law firms and 80+ CLE organizations. A former state prosecutor and civil trial attorney, he received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall Law School, where he taught civil trial advocacy for 16 years. Live Presentation Portland 2/14/2014 Ambridge Event Center 1333 NE MLK Jr. Blvd. MCLE Credit Combating Obstructionism at Deposition will receive 3.75 General MCLE credits. Great Adverse Depositions: Principles & Principal Techniques will receive 3.5 General MCLE credits. Questions Please call OLI at (503) in Portland or toll-free in Oregon at (800) , us at oli@lclark.edu, or visit our website at

6 registration form Combating Obstructionism at Deposition, and Great Adverse Depositions: Principles & Principal Techniques Friday, February 14, 2014 featuring Robert Musante Name osb No. or Profession Firm/Organization Street Address City/State/Zip Phone Tuition Registration includes electronic course materials. Printed materials are available for an additional $ (A link to a PDF of the materials will be ed prior to the seminar date.) Both Programs q $205 Early registration (received by February 10, 2014) q $120 OLI Passholder (OLI Pass No. ) (received by February 10, 2014) q $15 Print materials q $20 Add to above tuition if registration received after February 10, 2014 One Program Please indicate which program. Combating Obstructionism at Deposition Great Adverse Depositions q $145 Early registration (received by February 10, 2014) q $85 OLI Passholder (OLI Pass No. ) (received by February 10, 2014) q $15 Print materials q $20 Add to above tuition if registration received after February 10, 2014 Enclosed IS $ BY: q Check payable to Oregon Law Institute (OLI) q Live Webcast Registration This program will be broadcast LIVE over the internet on Friday, February 14, 2014, starting 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time. You may access this event from anywhere with an established internet connection. The webcast will include video and audio of the speakers and seminar handout materials all on your computer! To register for the live webcast, please click here or go to our website at and click on Webcasts. Note: This program will not be recorded. Credit Card: Acct. # q VISA q MasterCard q Discover q AmEx Exp. Date: Signature: Return this form with payment to: OLI Registrar 620 SW Main Street, Ste. 706 Portland, OR or fax ( ) or (oli@lclark.edu) this registration form to OLI, including credit card information. Confirmation: Confirmation will be sent via . Cancellation policy: Tuition minus a $25 handling charge will be refunded if the cancellation request is written and received by Monday, February 10, need assistance: If you are a person with a disability, please let OLI know in time to make any necessary accommodations for you. Tuition assistance: A limited number of scholarships are available based on financial need. Contact OLI.