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Deposition Toolkit (TX)
Practical Law Toolkit w-042-5117 (Approx. 5 pages)
Resources to assist counsel with key aspects of oral depositions and depositions on written questions in civil cases pending in Texas district and county courts. This Toolkit offers links to resources related to noticing, preparing for, taking, and defending in-person or remote (virtual) depositions.
During discovery, a party may use a deposition to obtain sworn out-of-court testimony from a witness. During a deposition, the deposing attorney asks the witness questions and the witness answers the questions. A well-conducted or defended deposition can significantly influence the outcome of a case. For example, parties may use deposition testimony as evidence in support of or in opposition to a dispositive pre-trial motion (such as a motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment) or as leverage during settlement negotiations.
Depositions offer counsel the opportunity to:
- Use broad questions to obtain the witness's oral responses.
- Establish facts to support each element of a claim or defense.
- Gather previously unknown facts.
- Learn as much as possible about the witness, including:
- assessing their credibility and effectiveness;
- obtaining their side of the story; and
- identifying the limits of their knowledge about the facts.
- Evaluate the case's strengths and weaknesses.
- Identify, authenticate, obtain, and confirm information about important documents.
- Preserve testimony for trial.
- Obtain sworn testimony that counsel may use to impeach or rehabilitate witnesses at trial.
In Texas, parties may take a deposition orally or on written questions, both of which may also require the witness to produce documents at the deposition (Tex. R. Civ. P. 199.1 to 199.6 and 200.1 to 200.4). This Toolkit offers links to resources to guide and assist counsel in using both kinds of depositions to obtain meaningful information about witnesses, documents, and facts. These resources address the rules that govern depositions, how to notice depositions (including notices that also seek documents), and strategies for preparing for, taking, and defending in-person or remote (virtual) depositions in Texas district and county court litigation.