The Role of the Court Reporter

12/15/2017 | by Heather Duncan, Esq.

By now, we all know that a California court reporter must uphold the strictest standards of professional neutrality and impartiality as outlined in the Business & Professions Code, California Code of Regulations and California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP).  The court reporter is not an agent of any one party, attorney, or deponent, but is a neutral and impartial officer of the court, entrusted with the job of creating a record of every word spoken when the parties are on the record.

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Deposing Opposing Experts

3/13/2016 | by Brian L. Burchett, Esq.

Taking expert depositions can be stressful, intimidating, and frustrating.  But it doesn’t have to be.  With the right planning and preparation, you can consistently accomplish your goals.  So, what do you do?

First, determine your goals for the deposition.   Are you looking for holes in the expert’s opinions?  Are you trying to get helpful testimony?  Are you probing for evidence of bias or inadequate qualifications? Do you want to try to exclude the expert from testifying to the opinions at all?  All of the above?  Well, not really.  It does not make a lot of sense to establish that an opposing expert who can give helpful testimony is biased and unqualified.

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