The Practical Guide to Better Deposition: Examples and Commentary

This Guide was created as a practical resource to help attorneys prepare for and improve their deposition skills, both before and after training. It focuses on four main goals: controlling the record, gathering all relevant information from the witness, securing clear admissions, and effectively handling objections.

Rather than being theoretical, the Guide is based on real-world experience and emphasizes understanding the reasoning behind effective questioning techniques. It highlights ten common problem areas in depositions, starting with the challenge of balancing concise, record-focused questions with a more conversational approach to uncover information.

The middle sections develop core skills, such as asking strong follow-up questions and handling specific scenarios, including discussions and documents. Later sections show how to turn gathered information into firm admissions. Throughout, examples and contrasting "bad" scenarios illustrate both effective strategies and common mistakes, reinforcing best practices.

Some examples are interconnected to show how a single line of questioning can evolve-from uncovering a conversation to authenticating documents and securing admissions-while others stand alone. Overall, the Guide is designed to build practical skills and improve deposition performance through clear examples and explanations.

Mark D. McCurdy is an award-winning attorney and advocacy teacher who has taught advocacy skills since 1992 and lectures across the United States on persuasion and communication for lawyers and law students. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, he earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Maryland Law School.McCurdy spent nearly 23 years in the Maryland Attorney General's Office, including a long tenure in its elite Civil Litigation division, building a substantial trial and appellate litigation background. He later served as General Counsel of the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF) for more than three years, overseeing its legal representation in the Maryland courts and working with the Maryland General Assembly.In 2015, he became Chief Executive Officer of MAIF, a \$200-million-plus insurance entity, and led a financial turnaround that positioned the organization for the next generation of Marylanders before retiring in 2021. He is also a proud father of Nathan and Tyler and has been cited by a national advocacy skills provider for his "dedication to the art of advocacy."As a writer and educator, McCurdy authored "Obtaining Admissions in Depositions," published in the Temple Law Review (Volume 74:1, Spring 2001) as part of Temple's Advocacy 2000 Symposium, drawing on his extensive deposition experience in high-profile matters. He co-authored State v. Graves, a telemarketing fraud prosecution case file used by the National Association of Attorneys General for advocacy training, and in 2021 co-wrote Steal or No-Steal: Lessons for Litigators from February's Impeachment Proceedings.

Suellen Wideman is an experienced trial and appellate attorney, a former Senior Assistant Attorney General in Maryland, and a nationally active teacher of advocacy skills. For more than 25 years, she worked with Maryland regulatory agencies on health care issues, giving daily input that helped shape Maryland's evolving health care system and expand access to quality care for all state residents. Wideman successfully led Maryland's first prosecution for "unprofessional conduct in the practice of medicine" against an obstetrician/gynecologist who engaged in "consensual" sexual relationships with patients, and she played key roles in defending Maryland's physician-discipline regulatory framework and the state's expansion of cardiac surgery services. Her public-interest commitment was recognized with the Jennifer Lauterbach Robbins Award for "her zealous advocacy in the public interest and for her willingness to litigate any issue with intensity, creativity, and perseverance." She sharpened her teaching skills as a public defender in Nashville, Tennessee, and now lectures extensively on a wide range of lawyering topics, including fact investigation, negotiations, depositions, motions practice, supervisory skills, and trial advocacy. Wideman co-authored State v. Graves, a telemarketing fraud prosecution case file used by the National Association of Attorneys General for nationwide advocacy training, and she has led well over 100 advocacy skills programs for a national legal skills training provider. A native of Georgia, Wideman currently lives in Sewanee, Tennessee. She holds an LL.M. from Yale Law School and a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law.