Civil litigation -- an oxymoron? It is in some parts of the country, where depositions continue to be very uncivil affairs, despite rules (ethical and otherwise) that require trial lawyers to behave professionally towards one another, i.e., like adults. The Ciceronian Review, for example, posts an example of uncivil deposition tactics in Utah. Here in Illinois, things aren't so wild anymore now that discovery depositions are limited to three hours. Lawyers won't put up with abusive tactics by their opposing counsel when those tactics are counting against their time.
Not that there's not room for improvement on the civility front, here or anywhere else. A proposal: Send me your examples of abusive deposition tactics (without naming names), and perhaps I'll post them here. Even if we can't shame the offenders into behaving themselves, it's certain to make for good entertainment . . .
3 hours? That doesn't seem like a lot, particularly when you have multiple defendants in an exposure case? In Texas, you get 6 under the rules, but of course, you can petition the court to revise discovery limits.
Posted by: Dedman | January 18, 2004 at 11:02 AM
In Illinois, you can get more time by asking the court, or by agreement. In my experience, most get the depos done in 3 hours. Evidence depositions are not limited. (Note: in Illinois, with few exceptions, only evidence depositions can be read at trial, meaning that if a witness isn't coming live, there are normally two depositions--a discovery and an evidence).
Posted by: Evan Schaeffer | January 19, 2004 at 07:06 AM