On July 17, 2013, the Litigation Committee presented a “Depositions Bootcamp II” CLE following the popularity of last year’s “Depositions Bootcamp + Ethics Minefield” CLE. The panel of senior litigators included: Vincent T. Chang (Partner at Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch), James P. Chou (Senior Counsel at Akin Gump Hauer Strauss & Feld LLP), Tristan C. Loanzon (Principal at Loanzon Sheikh LLC), Yasuhiro Saito (Principal at Saito Law Group PLLC), Concepcion A. Montoya (Partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP), James S. Yu (Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP) and William Wang (Partner at Lee Anav Chung White & Kim LLP). The panel was moderated by AABANY Litigation Committee co-chair Karen Kim (Associate at Menaker & Herrmann LLP). Alston & Bird LLP did an exceptional job hosting the event, with the assistance of Louis A. Russo, an associate at the firm, and the firm’s staff.
The CLE was well attended and a great success, thanks to the wonderful panelists who explained the basics of depositions, the different techniques to take a deposition, how to defend a deposition and common objections. Hudson Court Reporting also provided insight on the role of the court reporter in a deposition setting.
For the second part of the CLE, panelists demonstrated three common scenarios in a deposition and how to handle various situations, such as a difficult witness or opposing counsel. The participants were then able to take part in a workshop, where groups practiced taking and defending mock depositions. The panelists and Yang Chen (Executive Director of AABANY) served as witnesses and provided on-point critiques and advice.
CLE materials were provided, which included resources attendees can reference for guidance, PowerPoint slides and excerpts of deposition transcripts highlighting common situations. Overall, the attendees found the CLE informative and comprehensive, “excellent” and “one of the best CLEs." With the help of Francis Chin from the Professional Development Committee, attendees left with certificates for 2 CLE Skills credits.