Strategies in Taking and Defending Depositions

Paul Koepff | Clyde & Co LLP

Paul Koepff is a senior equity partner at Clyde & Company in New York, a global law firm with offices located on six continents. His extensive portfolio includes handling numerous insurance coverage litigations, as well as trials and arbitrations, and serving as a lead counsel for many substantial insurance coverage disputes and appellate rulings throughout his 45-year legal career. Prior to his tenure with Clyde & Company, Mr. Koepff was a senior partner with O’Melveny &Myers LLP, a large, international law firm with offices in the U.S. and other locations throughout the world. Until 2012, when he retired from O’Melveny, he served as a partner of litigation and as the chairperson of O’Melveny’s Insurance Department, which was awarded the Best Insurance Department by Chambers.

Throughout his lengthy and esteemed career, Mr. Koepff has prevailed in trials and arbitrations of complex coverage cases on key coverage issues, including numerous London arbitrations and trials in various states. He also has been successful in appeals, including obtaining major favorable decisions from the New Jersey Supreme Court, the New Jersey Appellate Division, New York Appellate Courts, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Southern District of New York, to mention just a few examples.

In additional to authoring numerous articles in scholarly journals and publications, Mr. Koepff frequently provides presentations and webinars on a number of insurance-related topics, including: “Reservation of Rights and Using Consent Judgments: Assigning Rights to the Plaintiff and Determining Whether the Settlement Could Result in a Bad Faith Suit”; “Insurer Bad Faith Set-Up Defense and ‘Reverse Bad Faith’ Claims: Insurer vs. Policyholder Perspectives”; “Examining The Impact of Additional Insured Coverage in the Industry and Marketplace”; “The Latest on Disputes Between Primary and Excess Carriers”; “Bad Faith in the Investigation of Insurance Claims: Strategies For Pursuing And Defending Allegations of Insurer Misconduct”.

Mr. Koepff is a recognized member of the New York Bar Association, ARIAS-US, The CLM, The American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel (ACCEC). He is also a member of the litigation section and tort and insurance practice section of the American Bar Association. Celebrated for his success, Mr. Koepff has been and continues to be recognized by Chambers USA for outstanding expertise in insurance dispute resolution. He is also an AV-rated preeminent attorney via Martindale-Hubbell and most recently was the recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award noting his many years’ experience in his professional network, including his achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field.

An alumnus of Lehigh University, Mr. Koepff received a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in 1969 and a Master of Business Administration in economics in 1970. He subsequently received a Doctor of Jurisprudence at Duke University in 1973. Mr. Koepff has been admitted to practice law by the New York and New Jersey Bar Associations, the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First through Sixth and the Ninth Circuits, various U.S. District Courts, including for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and District of New Jersey.

Alexander Potente | Clyde & Co LLP

Alex Potente is an experienced trial lawyer who represents insurers in complex commercial and insurance litigation matters, including coverage disputes pertaining to general liability and professional liability policies, the defense of consumer class actions against insurers, and bad faith coverage litigation. He handles complex coverage issues arising from masstort sexual and elder abuse, pollution (pollution liability and long-tail CGL/excess), product defects, public sector liability, business interruption, medical devices, and employment claims. Alex also represents insurance brokers in defense of professional negligence claims.

I. Limiting depositions | 2:00pm – 2:15pm

• By bifurcation
• Through document discovery / objections
• Motions for a protective order

II. Nature of the deposition | 2:15pm – 2:30pm

• “Discovery” deposition
• “Cross-examination” / establishing points deposition

III. Videotaped depositions | 2:30pm – 2:45pm

IV. Depositions of fact witnesses | 2:45pm – 3:00pm

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

V. Depositions of the corporate representative | 3:10pm – 3:25pm

• Whom you should produce as your corporate designee
• Is the preparation of a corporate designee witness discoverable
• What documents do you show the corporate designee
• How do you prepare a witness for a deposition?
• Strategies with respect to responding to topics for corporate designee deposition

VI. Depositions of a non-party witness | 3:25pm – 3:40pm

• Where the deponent is outside the jurisdiction of the court
• What objections can a non-party make?
• Where are discovery disputes resolved?

VII. What objections can and cannot be made at a deposition? | 3:40pm – 3:55pm

VIII. Witness reviewing and correcting the transcript | 3:55pm – 4:10pm