Mastering Placeholder Depositions: A Two-Part Training on Taking and Defending Depositions
Pricing for BOTH webinars: $20 for Barristers, $40 for CCCBA Members, $60 for Non-Members
~ 1 Hour of General MCLE Credit per webinar ~
Taking and defending depositions competently is critical to protecting your clients’ claims and defenses. Richard Ergo, a founding member of Bowles & Verna LLP, has taken and defended depositions throughout the United States and around the world during his 43-year career. He will share his experiences and advice in two one-hour training sessions. These sessions are primarily geared toward attorneys with limited or no deposition experience, or those who are looking to refresh their skills.
The first session will cover taking depositions, including:
· Proper preparation
· Outlining without being wed to the outline
· Creating a trial-useable record
· Making witnesses answer the questions
· Strategies for obtaining favorable testimony
· When to lay foundation and when not to
· Benefits of video testimony
· Handling objections
The second session will cover defending depositions.
Some attorneys underestimate the need for properly preparing witnesses. An unprepared witness unfamiliar with the nuances of the key issues, is far more likely to provide harmful “sound bites” that often create inaccurate negative inferences. There’s far more to adequately preparing your witnesses than simply going over the facts.
This session will include:
· Methods for handling difficult questions and multiple subjects
· Role playing and critiquing
· The length, number and timing of preparation sessions
· What documents to review
· Witness demeanor, particularly in video depositions
· Objections
· When to ask questions of your own witness
Esteemed Speaker:
Richard A. Ergo, Attorney at Law and Mediator
Bowles & Verna, LLP
2121 N. California Blvd., Ste. 875
Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Email: rergo@bowlesverna.com Web Site: http://www.bowlesverna.com.
Telephone: 925-935-3300
Facsimile: 925-935-0371
Richard A. Ergo has defended and taken hundreds of depositions throughout the United States and around the world during his more than 40-year career.
Much of his practice involves representation of product manufacturers in product liability claims, commercial disputes, trade secret issues and product recalls. He currently serves as national counsel for Worthington Enterprises, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio and Grand Hall Enterprise Co., Ltd. of Taipei, Taiwan, handling litigation for these and other companies throughout the United States.
Mr. Ergo’s commercial team handles supply agreement disputes (including “take or pay” contracts with exposure in excess of $700 million), consumer class action defense, breach of fiduciary duty claims against majority shareholders and board members, embezzlement and trade secret disputes. Though still a full-time litigator, Mr. Ergo also serves as a mediator, having received certifications in mediation from Cornell University and the California Court of Appeal, Third District.