#Treat the witness as hostile how to#

You need to be ready to show the witness the most important documents - especially the ones that will shake his or her self-righteousness. When faced with a cantankerous witness, your most important weapons are preparation and discipline.

#Treat the witness as hostile how to#

Best of all, he gave me plenty of information about how to push his buttons and how to show him at his worst at the trial. And his contempt made him careless, so his answers often contained good fodder for subsequent cross-examination. By being cordial but persistent, I think I eventually convinced him that the fastest way out of the room was to answer my questions. I got to keep asking questions and he didnвЂ™t get to leave. It was a tough day, but I had an inherent advantage. So he took every opportunity to lecture me about why my questions, my clients and my case were stupid. An Ivy League professor with high-level government experience, he conspicuously returned вЂњimportantвЂќ phone calls during breaks in the deposition and simply could not believe that I was going to waste his time for a whole day. I recently deposed an expert witness who simply dripped with contempt.

Focus on making your record, not on winning arguments or friends. You need to get information and admissions as efficiently as possible, so donвЂ™t waste time squabbling. Conversely, you have much more to lose by getting angry than does the witness or opposing counsel. But, as the questioning lawyer, you gain a tremendous advantage ifВ you keep your cool and the witness or opposing counsel doesnвЂ™t. Taking the deposition of a hostile witness is difficult and stressful, especially when the deponent is not just adverse but downright antagonistic.