There’s a lot at stake when your business has been sued. If you don’t properly handle the complexities of your case, then you may end up facing a judgment that requires you to pay out significant sums of money and that damages your business’s reputation. Those are outcomes that you’ll want to work hard to avoid, obviously, but figuring out how to adequately protect your interests can be difficult.
The best thing you can do when facing business litigation is to understand the allegations being made against you and then aggressively prepare your defense. Without thorough preparation, you can be taken by surprise in your case, which could lead to a devastating outcome. We know it can be hard to confront the issues you’re facing, but you truly have to embrace the process if you want to protect your interests as fully as possible. One way to do that is to ensure that you’re ready to provide depositional testimony.
Preparing for a deposition in business litigation
Before your case heads to trial, each side will want to know has much about the issue at hand as possible. That’s why the discovery process can be so grueling for everyone involved. But depositions can play a particularly beneficial or hurtful role, depending on which side you’re on. While they can assist in discovering new information, they can also lock witnesses into statements that allow you to better formulate your trial strategy. They can also increase the chances that you’ll catch a witness in an inconsistency, which can then be used to attack their credibility at trial. A bad deposition can put you in a tough spot heading into court.
So, there’s certainly a lot on the line when you’re being deposed in your case. Here are some ways to prepare for it:
- Know the facts: This can be daunting to think about, but you really need to know the facts of your case to accurately answer questions posed to you at the deposition. Review key documents and discuss anticipated questions about them with your attorney so that you know how to properly answer them when they come up.
- Understand questioning justifications: In your preparations, you’ll probably be able to anticipate several lines of questioning. While you’ll certainly want to pay attention to the substance of those questions, also think about the reason behind them. This can help you better frame your answers so that you can strategically protect your interests while remaining honest.
- Practice: We’ve all seen courtroom dramas where witnesses are taken by surprise during questioning. You can’t let that happen to you. The best way to avoid it is by not only anticipating questions, but also rehearsing answers to them. This will better ensure that you don’t make a slip of the tongue that comes back to bite you at trial. Remember, your deposition will be recorded, so everything you say will be documented for later use.
- Use stress reduction techniques: Regardless of how much you prepare and practice, there’s a good chance that you’ll be nervous going into your deposition. If you’ve developed strong stress reduction and coping skills before going in, though, then you can steel yourself and testify with confidence. So, consider learning breathing techniques and visualization strategies to help prevent nerves from taking over your deposition.
Use proper business litigation preparation to build the compelling case you need
It can feel overwhelming to prepare for business litigation. But you can’t let the stress of it all paralyze you into inaction. Instead, try to use your unease as a motivating factor to be as prepared as possible. By doing so, you’ll enter your case more confident and better equipped to counter the accusations that have been levied against you and your business.