Deposition

Lawyer reprimanded for feeding deposition answers to vulnerable client who had to be hospitalized afterward

A Massachusetts lawyer who said he whispered deposition answers to a client out of concern for her well-being has received a public reprimand.

Nov 16, 2023 3:11 PM CST

Columbia law prof banned from 2 depositions after allegations of verbal abuse, intimidating presence

A Columbia Law School professor has been banned from depositions in a trademark case after a former employee who was set to be deposed alleged that his post-traumatic stress disorder partly stemmed partly from the professor’s actions.

Nov 14, 2023 11:15 AM CST

BigLaw firm’s ‘misrepresentations and passive obstreperousness’ prevented witness testimony, judge says

A federal judge in Virginia has held lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in civil contempt while ordering its former client to pay enhanced damages for “abhorrent litigation conduct.”

Oct 24, 2023 2:07 PM CDT

Lawyer sanctioned for being ‘rude, demeaning and obnoxious’ in depositions

A federal judge has sanctioned a personal injury lawyer nearly $20,000 for his conduct during four depositions last year.

Sep 28, 2023 1:49 PM CDT

MyPillow CEO rails against lawyers in defamation depositions, says he doesn’t make ‘lumpy pillows’

Lawyers contend that MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was “combative, vulgar, disrespectful, nonresponsive, evasive and consistently loud” during three depositions in a defamation case against him.

Sep 12, 2023 12:58 PM CDT

Do this, not that, when preparing witnesses and during testimony, new ABA ethics opinion says

Lawyers have a duty to prepare and guide witnesses, but attorneys can’t coach a witness in a way that interferes with the integrity of the justice system and obstructs another party’s access to evidence, according to an ethics opinion released Wednesday by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

Sep 6, 2023 10:44 AM CDT

Judge sanctions lawyer for ‘obnoxious’ and ‘appalling’ deposition conduct

A personal injury lawyer will be sanctioned for his deposition conduct after calling the opposing counsel “corporate shills” who “live in an alternate reality," a federal judge ruled from the bench last week.

May 10, 2023 9:17 AM CDT

Jurors award $5M to writer who sued Trump for alleged assault; what evidence supported her allegations?

Jurors in a civil lawsuit filed against former President Donald Trump have found he sexually abused and defamed writer E. Jean Carroll and he is liable for $5 million in damages.

May 9, 2023 3:01 PM CDT

Baker & Hostetler partner ‘spoke words but did not provide answers’ in deposition, special master says

A special master has ordered a Baker & Hostetler partner to sit for a second deposition after finding that he was “an extraordinarily difficult and evasive witness” during the first round of questioning.

Apr 17, 2023 3:07 PM CDT

Suit by Fox News producer alleges BigLaw lawyers and others pressured her to give evasive testimony

Updated: A Fox News producer alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday that she worked in a “misogynistic environment” at the network and received worse legal representation than male employees as she prepared for deposition testimony in the defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems.

Mar 21, 2023 12:32 PM CDT

BakerHostetler partner gave ‘evasive and nonresponsive’ deposition testimony, motion says

Deposition answers by a BakerHostetler partner were so evasive that he should sit for repeat questioning at the offices of a special master who can intervene to resolve disputes, according to a motion filed by lawyers with Patterson Belknap. Rosebush is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Roche Diagnostics Corp. alleging he aided an insurance fraud scheme for BakerHostetler’s then-client, the pharmacy company Alliance Medical Holdings.

Mar 17, 2023 10:30 AM CDT

Law firms can’t be sanctioned for multiplying cases ‘vexatiously’ in federal court, 5th Circuit says

A provision of federal law that allows sanctions for multiplying legal proceedings “unreasonably and vexatiously” applies to lawyers but not their law firms, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Mar 14, 2023 12:46 PM CDT

Mistaken disclosure of confidential documents leads to suspension for lawyer representing Infowars host

Updated: A Connecticut judge has ordered a six-month suspension for a lawyer representing Infowars host and founder Alex Jones because the attorney “carelessly” handled confidential documents mistakenly released to the opposing counsel in a defamation trial against Jones.

Jan 9, 2023 2:04 PM CST

What state is deemed top ‘judicial hellhole’ following $1.7B verdict against Ford Motor Co.?

Georgia has climbed to the top spot in a ranking of “judicial hellholes” by the American Tort Reform Foundation.

Dec 7, 2022 2:22 PM CST

More than $2M in sanctions sought against Gibson Dunn and Facebook

Plaintiffs are seeking more than $2 million in sanctions against Facebook and its lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher after a federal judge said they engaged in “dilatory discovery conduct.”

Nov 22, 2022 10:43 AM CST