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October 18, 2013
3 Quick & Dirty Rules for Taking Depositions in a Commercial Case.
1. How to Prepare: Others in your shop can outline it for you--but prepare for it yourself. For every hour of deposition, expect at least three (3) hours of preparation.
2. Who to Bring: (a) A court reporter. (b) Your client representative. If you bring (c) a paralegal or associate to assist with exhibits and suggest additional questions, let the client know and whether or not you will charge for it. Maybe charge half. If you bring (d) an intern or clerk to learn, do not charge and tell the client you will not charge.
3. What to Ask: Ask Everything Rule 26(b)(1) or its state counterpart allows. But look for "bad" facts about your case. It's discovery--not a feel-good exercise--so don't hold back. Cringe if you must at answers you get. Explore them. Better to cringe now than at trial.
Savor the brutality. It's discovery. Get badness out on the table. (Photo: United Artists)
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2013
Lawyers Writing Sanely and Well: When?
"Pompous Bastard" by Tannermorrow
Ironically, few lawyers write well.
Many of us aren't even aware of that. Good clients and the general public are justified in beginning to conclude that either we won't or can't write sanely and well. At WAC/P?, over the years, we've discussed that problem a lot--but maybe not enough--at our section called Writing Well.
We've never demanded perfection. We have suggested the importance of, well, a modicum of Self-Respect. Of Simplicity. And of Non-Silliness.
You do need to work at it. Good writing, like good lawyering, is not easy.
When most of us write, we meander, repeat, confuse, use too many words, are awash in jargon, are lazy, and use the wrong words; in the end, we sound like self-important mental patients rocking back and forth and talking to ourselves. Useful and even brilliant legal thinking and insights get lost.
Read lawyer letters to counsel or clients if you don't believe me. At best, most of them are entertaining (and full-of-it). Or, for fun, just read our pleadings:
COMES NOW, the Plaintiff, GiantMart Inc., by and through its attorneys, Adams, Bones & Carson, LLC, brings this cause of action against Upstart Ltd, Scumbag Defendant, for violations of the Lanham Act, and for other causes of action, which are set forth in their entirety below, and files with this Honorable Court the herein Complaint, the following of which is a statement of its averments and allegations, oye oye [above with names changed to protect the lame, and one embellishment]:
rather than
Plaintiff GiantMart Inc. states:
Posted by JD Hull at 12:09 AM | Comments (0)