EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THI S IMPORTANT PHASE OF YOUR CASE WAIT, WHAT’S A DEPOSITION?
DOES DEPRESSION HELP US COPE?
The word “deposition” is thrown around a lot on cop shows and legal dramas. You might also remember it from back in the 1990s, when President Bill Clinton had to give a deposition during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. (I heard the word “deposition” more that month than any other time in my life, and I’m a lawyer!) Still, in my experience, even people who have heard the word don’t necessarily know what it means. This is problematic, since it’s an important step in your legal case. SO, WHAT DOES ‘DEPOSITION’ MEAN? Merriam-Webster offers multiple definitions for “deposition,” but the one I like best is “an out-of-court testimony made under oath and recorded by an authorized officer for later use in court.” A deposition is basically a formal interview. It’s a key part of the process when you file a lawsuit. WHEN DO DEPOSITIONS TAKE PLACE? Depositions happen during what is called the “discovery period,” which occurs after you engage a lawyer but before you go to trial. Typically, once you hire a lawyer, like me, both sides will exchange documents. Then, if one of the lawyers wants to know more from a specific person before the trial, they’ll ask to take a deposition. You might have to sit through a deposition yourself, or I might take one on your behalf. WHAT DOES A DEPOSITION LOOK LIKE? When a deposition starts, the person who is going to be questioned (aka “the witness”) is called into a special room, usually a lawyer’s office or a conference room. There, they sit down with all of the lawyers involved in the case. There’s also a stenographer and occasionally a videographer in the room to record the witness’s testimony. Once everyone is settled in, the lawyers ask the witness questions. The witness has to tell the truth when they answer because they’re under oath, just like in court. HOWDO LAWYERS GET READY FOR DEPOSITIONS? Every lawyer has a different process. Personally, I spend a lot of time getting ready, particularly if I’m deposing an important party. I start by researching all the nuances of the case. Then, I sit down with a blank legal pad and list out five goals I hope to accomplish during the deposition. For example, a common goal is to simply find out everything the witness knows about an important issue in the case. I then rank those goals from 1 to 5, from the most to least important. I then plan to spend about 50% of my time in the deposition achieving the No. 1 goal. Then, once I accomplish that goal, I allocate 25% of the time to the No. 2 goal, and so on down the line. This helps me manage my time during the deposition and helps me know I got the most bang for my buck out of the process. HOWCAN A LAWYER HELP YOU GET READY FOR A DEPOSITION? If you’re called into a deposition, the first thing I’ll do is explain the whole process to you and answer any questions you have. Then, I’ll put myself into the shoes of the opposing counsel. I’ll list and rank what I think their top five goals will be during the interview, then use that list to help you prepare to answer those questions correctly. I like to prepare my clients this way because giving a deposition isn’t as simple as “just telling the truth.” If you’re nervous, it’s easy to accidentally answer with incorrect information or speculate about a topic you don’t really know about. This can come back to bite you later, so it’s important you’re ready to give the correct information when asked, not just what you feel is “the truth.” Do you still have questions about the deposition process? Give me a call any time — I’m happy to help.
Many mental health experts blame the recent spike in mental illness on the DSM-5 (the standard classification of mental disorders) and the ever-expanding list of psychological conditions it identifies. But others, like neuroscientist Stephen Porges, aren’t convinced we can attribute increasing mental health problems to just more diagnoses — new ideas about mental health are changing how we view depression forever. We used to think depression started in the head and presented physical symptoms as a result, a behavioral representation of the turmoil within. But Porges, and researchers like him, believe it’s actually opposite of that. They theorize that the body can take in stimuli and internalize situational data much better than we thought, and that — at least for the Americans afflicted with mild or moderate depression — the mental illness is an immune reflex, similar to the swelling caused when blood rushes toward an injury to flood it with nutrients and, in some cases, immobilizing the area. Of course, that swelling can be a serious health problem in itself, and the same is true for depression. However, the new school of thought points out the positive effects of depression in many situations. For example, when people are in long-term traumatic situations, depression takes them “out” of themselves, and researchers posit that this numbing effect allows them to survive their daily difficulties, and memories of the period may be less damaging once they escape it. The question, then, is what do these new theories mean about the epidemic of mental illness sweeping America today? At the base level, it indicates that many Americans find themselves in unpleasant living situations, at the least, and hope for a future where that isn’t the case. Perhaps, Porges’ group says, modern people feel trapped in a world where comfort and convenience are the highest priorities. Mass depression is the result. This means that to survive, depression may be our buffer until we can pursue a vastly different way of living — a societal dilemma of the first order, and one we cannot afford to ignore.
2 | (804) 823-2011
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software