Preparing a Witness for Deposition

Your witnesses are prepared when you know what's coming. For most witnesses that means rereading every prior statement, noting where the account changed, and drafting a first set of questions. A missed difference between two statements can be the best point you never used.

This lesson answers: what will this witness say and where has the account changed? Three prompts build prep questions from a transcript, surface inconsistencies across prior statements, and draft a plain-language witness summary. Two additional prompts provide more information.

Before you start

Selection controls the answer. The Assistant reads only what you select, so include every version of the witness's account.
Name the document, set a number and a structure, and specify the voice. Ask for the document and provision behind each point.
Fill in the [brackets]. Replace each one with the specifics from your matter, such as the witness, the date, the topics and the documents, before you run the prompt.

Prompts

Review [witness]'s statement from [date]. Draft 12 deposition prep questions grouped under three headings: [topics]. Write each question the way I'd ask it in the room.

Compare [witness]'s account of these events across [documents]. List every factual inconsistency. For each one, name the two documents that conflict and describe what each one says.

Draft a one-page, plain-language summary of [witness]'s expected testimony for the deposition prep binder. Include a short section flagging the inconsistencies I need to probe.

Review [witness]'s statement from [date]. Draft 12 deposition prep questions grouped under three headings: [topics]. Write each question the way I'd ask it in the room.

Trust but verify

Every answer has blue numbers at the end, those are the citations. Click those numbers to see an excerpt of the document your answer came from. If needed, click the excerpt to see the answer highlighted in your document.