Taking Depositions in Federal Civil Litigation: A Comprehensive Guide

126 questions on taking depositions in federal civil litigation, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Are objections to the form of a deposition question waived if not made at the deposition?
• Are testimonial privileges construed broadly or narrowly?
• Can a civil case be stayed because a witness faces a parallel criminal investigation?
• Can a deposition be taken remotely in federal court?
• Can a witness avoid being deposed by swearing in an affidavit that they know nothing about the case?
• Can a witness plead the Fifth Amendment in a civil deposition?
• Can a witness take a break in the middle of a deposition?
• Can a witness use an errata sheet to change substantive deposition answers?
• Can deposition testimony be used at trial?
• Can I ask a Rule 30(b)(6) witness about the company's opinions and interpretations?
• Can I ask at a deposition the same questions a party already answered in written discovery?
• Can I demand that a witness search their phone for text messages during the deposition?
• Can I discover an expert's draft reports and communications with counsel?
• Can I inspect documents that a witness brings with them to a deposition?
• Can I invoke “the rule” to exclude other witnesses from sitting in on a deposition?
• Can I make a corporation state the factual basis for its claims and defenses at a deposition?
• Can I take a deposition before the Rule 26(f) conference?
• Can I use a Rule 30(b)(6) notice to reach a company's former employee?
• Does an objection at a deposition stop the witness from answering?
• Does each Rule 30(b)(6) designee get a separate seven hours?
• Does the party who serves discovery first get priority over the order of depositions?
• Does the ten-deposition limit apply per party or per side?
• Do I have to notify the other parties before serving a document subpoena on a nonparty?
• Do I have to pay a witness fee when I subpoena a nonparty for a deposition?
• Do lunch and breaks count against the seven-hour deposition limit?
• Do relevance and hearsay objections have to be raised during a deposition?
• Do the Federal Rules of Evidence apply at a deposition?
• Do the parties have to reach agreement on Rule 30(b)(6) topics?
• Have courts actually sanctioned lawyers for excessive deposition objections?
• How broad is the permissible scope of questioning at a deposition?
• How do I box an expert into the four corners of the report?
• How do I build a record that a corporate designee was not properly prepared?
• How do I compel a nonparty witness to appear for a deposition?
• How do I depose a witness who is located outside the United States?
• How do I draft Rule 30(b)(6) topics with “reasonable particularity”?
• How do I get a witness to bring documents to a deposition?
• How do I get permission to take more than ten depositions?
• How do I handle a hostile or argumentative deponent?
• How do I handle a witness who has been over-prepared and recites talking points?
• How do I lock in deposition testimony I want to quote at summary judgment?
• How do I overcome the apex doctrine and depose a CEO?
• How do I prevent off-camera coaching during a remote deposition?
• How do I test a common-interest privilege claim over documents shared with a third party?
• How do I test an overbroad corporate attorney-client privilege claim at a deposition?
• How do I test a work-product objection at a deposition?
• How do I use a deposition to set up leading questions at trial for a witness I have to call?
• How far can a subpoena require a nonparty to travel for a deposition?
• How is deposition testimony used at summary judgment?
• How long can a deposition last in federal court?
• How long does a witness have to review and correct a deposition transcript?
• How many depositions can each side take in a federal case?
• How much advance notice must I give before taking a deposition?
• How should I decide what to ask a witness at a deposition?
• How should I depose a treating physician in a personal-injury case?
• How should I handle a witness who keeps saying “I don't recall”?
• How should I organize exhibits for a deposition?
• How should I question a witness who is asserting the Fifth Amendment?
• How useful is inventor deposition testimony for claim construction?
• In what order should I depose the witnesses in a case?
• Is it worth bringing a second lawyer to a deposition?
• Is Rule 30(b)(6) testimony a binding judicial admission?
• Should a deposition outline be a script?
• Should I agree to the “usual stipulations” at the start of a deposition?
• Should I bring a second lawyer to a deposition?
• Should I depose the other side's expert witness?
• Should I reserve the right to recall a deposition witness?
• What are deposition designations and counter-designations?
• What are the recognized purposes of taking a deposition?
• What can I do if opposing counsel's obstruction burns up my deposition time?
• What can the parties change about a deposition by stipulation under Rule 29?
• What does it mean that deposition testimony is taken “subject to” objection?
• What do I do when a deposition witness does not show up?
• What duty does an organization have to prepare its Rule 30(b)(6) designee?
• What ground rules should I put on the record before beginning substantive deposition questions?
• What happens if a deposition has to stop early because of an emergency?
• What happens if a Rule 30(b)(6) designee shows up unprepared?
• What has to be in a Rule 30(b)(1) deposition notice?
• What is a catch-all question at a deposition and why does it matter?
• What is a deposition in federal civil litigation?
• What is a deposition on written questions under Rule 31?
• What is a form objection at a deposition, and how do I cure it?
• What is a hybrid witness, and why does that deposition matter so much?
• What is a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition?
• What is a speaking objection, and why is it improper?
• What is a trial deposition and how should I take one differently?
• What is funnel questioning in a deposition?
• What is looping in deposition questioning?
• What is my remedy when a witness is improperly instructed not to answer?
• What is the 2020 Rule 30(b)(6) meet-and-confer requirement?
• What is the apex doctrine in deposition practice?
• What is the commit-and-confront impeachment sequence?
• What is the difference between a discovery deposition and a preservation deposition?
• What is the expert-admissibility standard I am building toward in an expert deposition?
• What is the fourteen-day trap in Rule 32(a)(5)(A)?
• What is the right posture toward a barrage of deposition objections?
• What is the right way to mark an exhibit on the record at a deposition?
• What is the sham-affidavit doctrine, and how does it relate to a deposition?
• What logistics should I confirm before taking a deposition?
• What must the court reporter state on the record at the beginning of a deposition?
• What protections does Rule 45 give a nonparty who is subpoenaed for a deposition?
• What separates a deposition that wins a case from one that wastes it?
• What should I bring to a deposition in case something goes wrong?
• What should I cover in an expert deposition?
• What should I cover when deposing a product designer in a trade dress case?
• What should I develop when deposing an inventor in a patent case?
• What should I do after a deposition ends?
• What should I do before announcing that my deposition examination is finished?
• What should I do when a witness or opposing counsel mischaracterizes a document at a deposition?
• What should I do when I know the deposition witness just lied?
• What should I review before taking a deposition?
• What technology planning does a remote deposition require?
• What work should I do after a deposition ends?
• When can a deposition be used instead of live testimony at trial?
• When can I take a second deposition of a witness I already deposed?
• When do I need leave of court to take a deposition in federal court?
• When may a lawyer instruct a deposition witness not to answer a question?
• When will a court give me more than seven hours to take a deposition?
• Where does a federal deposition have to take place?
• Which Federal Rule of Civil Procedure governs oral depositions?
• Who administers the oath and records the testimony at a federal deposition?
• Who decides whether a deposition is recorded by video?
• Who is allowed to attend a deposition?
• Why does civility matter when you are taking a deposition?
• Why is an adverse party's deposition testimony so valuable?
• Why is a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition more powerful than an ordinary deposition?
• Why should I lay a foundation before questioning a witness about a document?