This is actually a two-fer, since the deposition continued over multiple days. Interestingly, on both days I worked with reporters named Pat, both of whom were very experienced. Pat L., on the first day, was friendly and outgoing and, while first seeming a bit surprised to have an intern, by the end of the day was exchanging question for question with me (and for those who have felt the Jaffe interrogation, you know that's quite a feat!). Pat S., on the second day, had been everywhere and done everything, and it was really interesting to get her viewpoint on not just depositions, but on the court system as well.
I went into this deposition with exactly the wrong attitude. After less-than-stellar performances in previous depositions, I needed something to boost my confidence. This deposition, as it happened, was scheduled for my home turf, both literally (it was at the law firm where I work, being taken by one of our attorneys from our San Francisco office) and metaphorically (it involved the internet!). "If I can't get this," I felt some voice in me muttering, "I should just bag it all."
I would not have blamed the Universe if it had slammed the door in my face at this point in time, but fortunately, instead, I was given a beautiful gift. As I approached the first day of deposition for me (the second day of the deposition total), the reporter greeted me with the glad tidings that this was the slowest deposition she had taken in five years!
And it was, indeed, wonderfully, blissfully, delightfully slow. The attorney asked his question; the witness thought about it, and then answered carefully. The attorney made notes, and then asked his next question. Except for occasions immediately after readback on the first day (when Pat was reading electronically and got a quicker post-readback start than I did, because she didn't need to adjust her paper as I did) or when the attorneys were arguing with one another, the pace was such that I felt very comfortable. (Still had one or two squinchy portions, but overall I felt very, very good.)
This was also really the first deposition where I felt comfortable asking the witnesses a lot of questions about vocabulary -- which went fine! The witnesses were both friendly and willing to accommodate my questions.
An interesting wrinkle in the deposition was the use of a videotape recorder, in addition to the court reporter. T.J. was as friendly as could be, and I could see a really nice interaction with him and both of the court reporters. (I had always enjoyed working with his boss, Ray, as a paralegal, and T.J. was every bit as delightful.)
At the end of the day, T.J. gave the reporters copies of audio tapes of the deposition, for them to use to check their transcripts, if they wished. (From talking to these reporters and others, it seems that on videotaped depositions you really want to check your stuff carefully, because of course the attorneys will have a record of every "ummm" and "yeah" on their videotape.) Since everyone was wired for the video camera, the sound feeds on his audio tapes would be much better than what a standalone tape recorder could achieve.
On a similar vein, a videographer can help a court reporter hear the testimony better, if they can provide an earphone corresponding to the video sound feed. T.J. let me wear the earphone on the second day of the deposition, just to try it out. While it wasn't necessary in this particular deposition (basically, there were only the questioning attorney, the witness, and the defending attorney talking, and the room was small), I could see how that could be a big help in a situation with multiple attorneys spread out so that the acoustics worked against the reporter.
After the deposition, I asked T.J. if he had ever been asked to take a deposition by himself, without a court reporter present. He said that it had happened, but only rarely. Sometimes when that happens, it's a result of the attorneys trying to cut expenses, and a client who is trying to cut expenses is not always the most trustworthy client to have anyway.
Lessons Learned:Some depos really are achievable!
Videographers bring cool toys.
Even in an easy depo, good briefs for common phrases help out.
Witnesses are good sources of information.
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