Strategic Depositions

Early in my career, I treated depositions like a checklist.  I’d ask every question I could think of, try to cover every topic, and leave no stone unturned.  And in the end, I often walked out unsure whether I’d actually gotten what I needed.  I had a long transcript but little clarity.

What I didn’t yet understand was that a strong deposition isn’t about asking everything.  It’s about asking the right things.  Once I shifted from broad fact-finding to securing specific admissions, everything changed.

A well-planned deposition can do a lot of heavy lifting, setting up a motion for summary judgment, streamlining trial prep, or clarifying leverage points, but only if it’s done with strategic intent.  It forces precision in your case theory.  If you can’t articulate what you’re trying to prove and how each piece fits together, you won’t know what to pursue—or when to stop.

Start With a Plan, Not a Script

When you begin preparing for a deposition, don’t start with your questions, start with your claims and defenses.  Break each one down into its elements.  In Colorado, jury instructions offer a clean and reliable structure.  Think of it as reverse-engineering your trial strategy.  What will you need a witness to say on the stand?  That’s what you should be focused on in deposition.

Then map your evidence.  Which elements are already supported by documents?  Where are the gaps?  What testimony could fill them? Those gaps define your deposition priorities.

Written discovery responses are especially useful at this stage.  They help clarify positions, surface key documents, and reveal inconsistencies.  More importantly, they allow you to tailor your deposition, rather than using it as a broad fact-finding mission.  Treat the deposition as a refinement stage, not an opening move.  The groundwork should already be in place.  When you wait for discovery to come in before locking your deposition outline, you position yourself to go deeper where it matters.  Issue your discovery early enough that you’ll have the responses in hand with time to use them meaningfully.  

Once you’ve assessed the full landscape, build a working matrix.  It doesn’t need to be elaborate, just clear and usable.  List each claim and defense, outline the elements, and track the evidence that supports (or undermines) each one.  This matrix becomes a living blueprint; it guides your deposition and evolves as your case progresses.

By the time you’re preparing for trial, it should function as a full cheat sheet, informing your exhibit list, refining your outlines, and clarifying your trial themes.  You’ll be able to revisit your matrix and transcripts to confirm which elements are locked down and which still need reinforcement.

Use Exhibits with Purpose

Every document you use should serve a clear purpose—if it doesn’t, save it.  Often, a strong exhibit is most effective when introduced only after the witness has already committed to a position it undermines.  Start with background: timelines, responsibilities, relationships.  Let the witness settle into their version of events then bring in the exhibit that makes that version hard to maintain.

I keep most of my key questions directly on the exhibits.  It keeps the focus grounded in the evidence and allows me to adapt if the conversation shifts.  My outline, by contrast, is just a list of topics to ensure I’ve covered the major points.  At the end of the deposition, I can glance at it and confirm whether I’ve hit the marks.

This structure helps avoid over-prepping or boxing yourself into a rigid sequence.  You stay anchored to your core strategy without being so scripted that you miss opportunities to follow the witness where it matters.  You’ll also get cleaner answers.  Witnesses tend to relax when the deposition feels like a conversation.  Exhibits give that conversation structure, and well-timed transitions can gently unravel even a well-rehearsed narrative.

Build Carefully Toward the Admission

The most effective moments often come quietly.  A witness answers a clean, focused question, one that leaves little room to maneuver, and just like that, the admission is on the record.  To get there, don’t rush.  Build the foundation with straightforward questions that remove ambiguity.  Limit their options until only one answer remains.  Think of it as a funnel—each response narrowing the path toward the final, undeniable answer.

When it comes to critical admissions, ask as if you’re already in trial.  The question should be concise, clear, and capable of being repeated verbatim in front of a jury.  Avoid compound phrasing or anything likely to draw an objection.  If the answer changes at trial, you want clean impeachment.  There is nothing less impactful than a botched or poorly executed impeachment.

You can also run parallel lines of questioning toward separate admissions.  It keeps the witness off balance and makes it harder for them to anticipate your direction.  If they don’t see it coming, they can’t spin the answer before you ask it.  If you sense they are anticipating you, shift your rhythm.  Insert a soft question and break the pattern.  It’s not about reciting questions, it’s about reading the moment and adjusting with purpose.

Stay Present and Flexible

Depositions are dynamic.  Some of the most revealing testimony happens in unplanned moments—a contradiction, an unsolicited explanation, or a defensive pivot.  That’s why a rigid script can work against you.  Use your outline to track key points but stay engaged.  Listen closely.  If you’re flipping through your notes or queuing up your next question, you might miss a moment that changes your entire approach.

Staying responsive also gives you space to follow up meaningfully.  A well-timed follow-up often reveals more than the original question, and sometimes, a witness will offer something unprompted that opens a door you didn’t know was there.

It also helps keep your strategy concealed.  If the conversation flows naturally, back and forth, responsive and curious, the witness won’t know where you’re heading.  You might know you’re walking them toward a key admission, but they don’t, which limits their ability to shape or avoid the answer.  It also keeps opposing counsel from jumping in too soon.

You’re not just collecting answers, you’re observing how they respond under pressure.  Do they hesitate?  Do they shift blame?  Do they offer testimony that contradicts a document you haven’t shown yet?  These tells matter, and you only catch them if you’re present. 

Lastly, remember that you’re building the record for opposing counsel too.  The deposition isn’t just about what you hear, it’s about what they now know.  A witness who reveals weakness can reframe settlement entirely.

Know When to Move On

One of the most valuable skills in deposition work is knowing when you’ve gotten what you came for.  There’s a strong temptation to circle back, reinforce the answer, or emphasize its importance, but that only gives the witness an opportunity to backpedal or add context.  If you land the admission, don’t draw attention to it.  Move on.

Pivoting calmly keeps the record clean and reduces the likelihood that opposing counsel will feel compelled to rehabilitate the testimony.  If you’ve framed your question well, the transcript will speak for itself.  It also signals control.  You’re not there to win in the moment, you’re building a record you’ll control later.

If the admission was a big one, resist the urge to highlight it.  Silence is often more powerful than emphasis.  Let the moment pass and move on in your questioning—ask about something routine.  The contrast preserves the weight of what just happened without alerting the other side.

Closing Thought: Win Quietly

The best depositions don’t feel dramatic, they feel inevitable.  You ask a series of clean, precise questions, and the witness gives answers that slowly back them into a corner.  Then, without fanfare, they give you exactly what you need.  That’s not luck, it’s strategy.

A good deposition doesn’t need to be flashy, it needs to be effective.  You don’t have to ask everything, you have to ask what matters and ask it well.

Prepare with the end in mind, keep your questions clean, use your exhibits as anchors, and stay adaptive.  When the moment comes, recognize it, capture it, and keep moving.  Depositions aren’t about performance, they’re about positioning and, when done well, they subtly shift the entire case.