Importance of Reviewing The Deposition Transcript Before Trial
Testimony taken in depositions often plays an important part in building your legal case. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and state rules give deponents the right to read and make corrections to the deposition transcript. If that right is asserted during the deposition itself, the deponent has a set time period (as specified in the applicable rules) from the time they are notified that a transcript of the deposition is available to exercise that right.
There are several reasons to routinely review the deposition transcript before trial:
- Correct Mistakes. The right to make changes to deposition testimony allows the deponent to identify and correct any transcription errors before the trial. Court reporters are human; even the most diligent transcriptionist may make an occasional error. If a word was mistyped or omitted, the apparent meaning of a deponent’s answer could change dramatically. Reviewing the transcript allows for correcting typos and other errors.
- Make Substantive Changes. Deponents can also make substantive changes to their deposition testimony during the transcript review process. However, they should know that any substantive changes will be scrutinized closely, and the original testimony will be provided along with the change and the deponent’s reasoning for making the change.
- Help Structure Attorney’s Case. Reviewing deposition transcripts also provides attorneys with the opportunity to parse the testimony for useful information. This can help attorneys build their trial strategies by identifying passages they want to use during trial, pre-trial discovery, pre-trial memoranda, etc.
- Give Experts Time to Prepare. Experts appreciate having as much time as possible to review deposition transcripts because it can help them analyze the information and prepare their testimony.
- Review and Summarize. Deposition transcripts are often voluminous and can be hundreds of pages. Preparing deposition summaries well in advance of trial can help you locate key information and exhibits quickly and easily when you need them.
Baer Reed’s expert litigation support attorneys offer deposition summaries customized to provide concise overviews of key information captured during deposition testimony. To learn more, contact us online or call 888-433-1990 today.
- On April 17, 2018
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