Strategies in Taking and Defending Depositions (2025 Edition)

Gerald A. Connor | Margolis Edelstein

Gerald A. Connor is a partner and trial attorney in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, office of Margolis Edelstein, a full-service multi-state litigation provider to the insurance industry, major corporations, and governmental entities. He focuses his practice on casualty litigation, ranging from automobile and general liability claims to products liability, construction litigation, and workers’ compensation claims. Mr. Connor also has extensive experience in commercial litigation, insurance coverage and First Party claims, and employment law. He has handled dozens of trials, administrative hearings, and arbitrations to verdict, and is active at the appellate level in both state and federal court. Mr. Connor is a member of the Lackawanna County and Pennsylvania bar associations. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. degree from Widener University School of Law and is a frequent lecturer at both the State and National level.

Dennis Wilenchik | Wilenchik & Bartness P.C.

Dennis Wilenchik is a nationally certified civil trial advocate with over 46 years of experience as a civil and white-collar criminal trial attorney. Renowned for his expertise, he has tried hundreds of cases to jury verdicts and handled numerous high-profile cases, earning multimillion-dollar verdicts and national recognition. He has served as a legal thought leader, author, and speaker at various prestigious legal seminars.

A former Chairman of the Arizona Bar Association’s Trial Practice Section, Mr. Wilenchik has held numerous leadership roles, including Co-Chair of the ABA Trial Practice Committee’s Sound Advice program and General Counsel for the Arizona Republican Party. His professional accolades include selection as a Super Lawyer in Business Litigation, Distinguished Lawyer of America, and repeated recognition as “Best Trial Lawyer in the Valley” by Arizona Foothills Magazine.

Mr. Wilenchik has represented a wide array of clients, including prominent political figures, major corporations, and state agencies. He has also contributed significantly to Arizona’s legal landscape, serving as a Judge Pro Tem, committee member for federal judicial appointments, and board member for various state and legal organizations.

Mr. Wilenchik graduated from South Texas College of Law and resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and continues to actively practice law while mentoring the next generation of attorneys at his firm, Wilenchik & Bartness, P.C.

Session I – Effective Deposition Management: Rules, Roles, and Best Practices | 1:00pm – 3:10pm

• Limiting Depositions
• Understanding the Nature of Depositions
• Utilizing Videotaped Depositions Effectively
• Conducting Depositions of Fact Witnesses

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

• Best Practices for Depositions of Corporate Representatives
• Navigating Depositions of Non-Party Witnesses
• Permissible and Impermissible Objections During Depositions
• Reviewing and Correcting Deposition Transcripts with Witnesses

Break | 3:10pm – 3:20pm

Session II – Techniques and Strategies for Taking Depositions | 3:20pm – 4:20pm

• Applicable Rules of Civil Procedure
  • Notice
  • Limitations
  • Protective orders
  • Overview of Rules 27, 30, 31, FRCP, and Rule 15, FRCrimP
  • Sanctions for deposition misconduct
• Types of Depositions
  • Fact witnesses
  • Corporate representatives
  • Expert witnesses
• Preparing to Take the Deposition
  • Types of outlines and objectives
  • Using the correct question structure and formulating effective questions
  • Preparation for unexpected, evasive, and incomplete answers
  • Anticipating problem witnesses
  • Remote depositions and how they may impact trial
• Preparing Your Witness
  • The ethics of preparing the witness and pre-deposition meetings
  • Protecting the witness during depos, including proper objections
  • Consistency is key
  • Instructions to witness not to answer
  • The importance of reading and signing and how this could impact your trial
• The Expert Witness Depositions
  • Taking them
  • Defending them
  • Search for information about your experts and opposing party’s experts
  • Rules of evidence regarding disclosure by expert
• Techniques for Taking Depositions
  • Controlling the narrative: Leading vs. open-ended questions
  • Strategies for uncovering inconsistencies and credibility issues
  • Using documents, exhibits, and prior testimony effectively
  • Managing difficult witnesses and opposing counsel tactics
  • Real-time adjustments: Pivoting during unexpected testimony