Wednesday, September 30, 8:30 a.m.–3:45 p.m. ET
| MCLE Credit: | 6.0 (Ethics: 1.0) |
| Live-Interactive Credit: | 6.0 (all formats) |
Live on Site:
Webcast:
Telephone:
Whether you are seeking information, an admission, or defending your client, your control of a deposition is critical. In this all-new seminar, Sybil Dunlop channels her experiences as a successful trial lawyer and marries them with her remarkable teaching talent and excitement for the practice of law to deliver a unique learning experience.
You will learn how to:
And so much more!
Registration Deadlines:
| Webcast: | 10 minutes prior to seminar. If you register for a webcast the day of the seminar, your e-mail receipt will include a link to launch the seminar and download the materials. |
| Telephone: | Online registration ends 10 minutes prior to the seminar Call (434) 979-8253 to register up to one hour prior to the seminar |
| Live on Site: | Online registration ends at 11:59 p.m. the day preceding the seminar Walk-in registration is permitted on a space-available basis |
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. You will, however, be charged $90 if you cancel or transfer your registration to a different seminar after the link to the materials has been e-mailed by Virginia CLE®.
Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.
Dietary Restrictions: If you have dietary restrictions and are attending the seminar in person, please email dwoodland@vacle.org.
MCLE Credit Caveat: The MCLE Board measures credits by the time you spend in attendance. If you enter a seminar late or leave it early, or both, you must reflect those adjustments accurately in the credits you report on your credit reporting form. A code will be given at the end of the seminar, which must be written on your MCLE form.
Can’t Attend?
E-mail distance_ed@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program is made available as an online or USB seminar.
E-mail publications@vacle.org to be notified when/if this program’s seminar materials are made available for sale.
| 8:00 | Registration |
| 8:30 | How to Prepare Your Witness—What the Latest Research Says Learn best practices for preparing your witness, including the use of documents during preparation and the latest research to help your witness feel comfortable and perform at his or her best. How to Draft and Use Outlines—Prepare to Be Flexible While you never want to be tied to your outline, advance preparation allows you the flexibility to move beyond the outline in a deposition. We’ll review several outline templates to identify the styles that will work best in different circumstances. |
| 10:00 | Break |
| 10:15 | How to Take and Defend Depositions—Mastering the Fundamentals Whether conducting a discovery deposition, a trial deposition, a hybrid, or defending your own witness, the fundamentals are crucial. Learn tips and tricks to elevate your performance. How to Make Effective Objections When defending a deposition, the objection is your primary tool. This session covers everything—from teaching your witness about deposition to effectively using objections to preserve your record. |
| 11:45 | Lunch (provided on site) |
| 12:30 | How to Take and Defend Expert Depositions The expert has likely been deposed before—explore special considerations for expert depositions, including how to set up a Daubert motion, your trial cross-examination, or even increase your chances of settlement. Identify Your Deposition Style—Play to Your Strengths Playing to your own strengths will help you achieve your deposition objectives (and feel comfortable while doing so). Identify your own deposition style by examining a showcase of various successful models. |
| 2:00 | Break |
| 2:15 | How to Properly Use Deposition Technology The court reporter is an officer of the court. Your ethical interaction with the reporter as well as the proper use of technology, including video, Realtime, AI, and electronic exhibits, increase your likelihood of a successful deposition. |
| 2:45 | Ethical Pitfalls to Avoid in Depositions When there is a transcript, there is room for error. This session reviews recent case law providing deposition guidance and offers advice for avoiding ethical missteps. The ethics hour covers the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct that govern deposition conduct, principally Rules 3.3, 3.4, 4.4, 1.6, 4.2, 4.3, 3.5, and 8.4, as applied through case law on witness coaching, obstructive objections, remote-deposition conduct, and handling privileged material. |
| 3:45 | Adjourn |
Sybil Dunlop, Greene Espel PLLP / Minneapolis, MN
Sybil Dunlop is a partner with Greene Espel PLLP in Minneapolis, where she handles complex litigation for local and international clients. She is a passionate and uncommonly persuasive advocate who helps clients resolve commercial and intellectual property disputes. Her litigation practice affords her substantial first-chair trial and arbitration experience. Sources share that “she is brilliant, responsive and seeks to understand business objectives” as well as a “go-to solution for complex disputes.” (Chambers USA, 2022 and 2024). Minnesota Lawyer has recognized her three times as “Attorney of the Year.”
Bringing her skills to bear, Ms. Dunlop successfully leads teams in litigations around the country, and she has taken and defended hundreds of depositions. She is also an experienced and well-reviewed instructor, teaching courses on litigation tactics, depositions, legal writing, and trial strategy to audiences around the country. Audiences applaud her “passion and enthusiasm for mastery” and share that she provides the “the perfect balance of general information while also going into nuanced issues for more experienced practitioners.”
Ms. Dunlop is a faculty member of The Professional Education Group.
