As mentioned prior in my most recent post, I have accompanied the firm’s attorneys to both court and to a deposition. A deposition involves the taking of a sworn, out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that may be referenced for later use in court or for investigative purposes. Depending on the case depositions can range in length from a couple of hours to even multiple days. You are likely familiar with the proceedings/antics of a deposition If you have seen The Social Network, a popular docudrama based on the meteoric rise of Mark Zuckerberg and the legal conflicts that followed Facebook’s ascension.
The deposition I observed lasted nearly six hours and was held at the law office of a neighboring firm (across the street). In this particular case the witness to be questioned was a client of our firm. The predominate issue of this particular case was the division of postnuptial (following divorce) assets, which is often the case in family/divorce law. The witness was questioned regarding his business ownership, financial holdings and the nature of his relationship to his children. The questioning was carried out by the opposing council’s lead attorney and border-lined complete hostility on numerous occasions. As you might expect, this is not unusual for family law (or really any law). After 6 hours of this questioning, the opposing council rested and the deposition was concluded. This, more than any previous experience at OsborneFletch gave me a raw and unfiltered window into the behind the scenes (outside the courtroom) interactions with clients, other attorneys and the law that binds them.
(Pictured above) Office art: The Olympigs
