It used to be common for attorneys to drive or fly all over the country taking depositions, but times have changed. Clients are less willing to pay for travel expenses and travel time, so telephone depositions are becoming increasingly common. 

In virtually all telephone depositions the court reporter will be present with the witness, since they’ll be administering the oath. Sometimes one attorney will also be present with the witness and other attorneys on the phone, sometimes all attorneys will attend by phone, and in some cases with numerous parties just one attorney will attend by phone.

However the telephone deposition is configured, some parts of it will always be nerve-wracking, but with a little bit of advance planning it can be less stressful.

1. Location, location, location!

Make sure the witness will be at a location with a speakerphone and access to appropriate technology. Believe it or not, our reporters have shown up to depositions where the out-of-town witness was allowed to choose the venue to find that there was only an old-school phone without a speakerphone option, or the witness figured they would just put their cell phone on speaker for the deposition. The best way to handle this is to schedule your telephone deposition through a court reporting firm that provides a conference room for the deposition. They’ll handle the technology and make sure you have a reliable conference call provider scheduled.

2. Exhibits

In a perfect world (for the court reporter, at least), multiple copies of all of the exhibits would be mailed to the court reporter ahead of time with an index sheet describing what they are. Understanding that there are many reasons that ideal won’t work in a particular case, we advise clients to email exhibits to us no later than 24 hours before the deposition. Each exhibit should be in a separate PDF file, and an index should be provided. Label the documents as either 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C, whichever you are *not* using for exhibits. That way, you can easily direct the court reporter to the exhibit you’d like marked and not waste time trying to describe a particular document. 

If possible, send the index sheet to opposing counsel as well so proceedings aren’t held up while they locate the document. If the court reporter doesn’t receive the email with your exhibits until a few hours before the deposition starts, they might not be able to get the exhibits printed in time for the deposition.

3. Pause!

It’s even more important in a telephone deposition to not talk over each other or interrupt, but it’s more difficult to avoid because you can’t see the other person. The witness should be instructed to wait a second or two before answering a question in case an attorney wishes to lodge an objection, and the taking attorney should wait a second or two before beginning the next question as well.

4. Create a calm environment

A lot of people fidget when they’re sitting at their desk or listening to a deposition, but little noises like pens tapping on desks or keyboard are emphasized in telephone depositions and can actually bleed over the questions or answers. If you’re going to take notes on the computer while listening to the testimony, mute your line. If you know you’ll be tempted to tap your pen or jiggle your keys, keep those items away from your desk. Close the door to your office to cut down on background noise that can distract other call participants. And absolutely do not carry on other conversations during the conference call.

5. Assert Yourself

If you’re on the phone and need to object or make a comment, say it loud and proud – and be sure to identify yourself. Most of the time the court reporter can differentiate between the voices, but there have been cases where a couple of the attorneys have very similar voices and it’s difficult to distinguish who’s speaking.

6. Allow for Extra Time

Sometimes there are tech issues with a conference call line or with the technology skills of some of the people dialing in. Try to be on the conference call line 5-10 minutes before the start of the deposition so any kinks can be worked out and proceedings can still start on time.

7. “New Phone, Who’s This?

In addition to the exhibits you’ll be sending the court reporting firm (which you’ll be doing, right?) make sure the court reporter has the Notice of Deposition and the names of the parties attending. This will save time and ensure the court reporter has accurate information for the appearance sheet (since you won’t be there in person handing them a business card).

We hope these tips will help you when preparing for and conducting your next telephone deposition. Greater Raleigh Court Reporting provides complimentary conference rooms, conference call setup, and court reporting services for telephone depositions. To schedule your Raleigh area telephone deposition, use our easy online scheduling tool or call us at 919-586-8011.