Yearly Archives: 2025

I am amazed at attorneys who continue to tarnish their reputation with judges, as well
as with their fellow attorneys, by allowing the client to dictate what will be filed or argued
before the Court.

JUST SAY NO!

The legal community is a small one. There is no client worth the cost of your reputation
in the legal community, but particularly your reputation with judges. Judges have long
memories, and they talk amongst themselves. They do not forget bogus motions, over-
the-top litigation, professional discourtesy, dishonesty, and the like. At a minimum, the
division will know of your vexatious litigation. It is more likely, however, that the entire
circuit will know of it. Remember, a judge should look forward to seeing you walk into his
or her courtroom, not groan under their breath.

You have a long career ahead of you. You must remember that selling your soul for one
Client will hurt the clients you will represent in the future.

Preservations of objections to other forms of discovery is found in accordance with the Rules of Procedure to that specific method of discovery. These rules tell you not only how to object, but also the time limit for which your objections should be served. When you lodge timely objections to written discovery, your obligation to respond is suspended until the court rules on the objections. Keep in mind that the court can award fees, in the event that the court finds the objections without merit.

Filing for a Motion for Protective Order does not automatically stay a scheduled deposition. You must file the motion promptly and make every effort to schedule a hearing date prior to the deposition. Of course, you have the burden of demonstrating good cause, ideally with evidence – showing why the Motion for Protective Order should be granted. Obviously, it is in the best interest of both parties to have the court rule upon the Motion for Protective Order prior to the deposition. However, at times a hearing cannot be scheduled. Since the filing of the Motion does not act as a stay, the moving party will be faced with the decision of whether to attend the deposition and thereby waive their objections or risk sanctions for their failure to appear. Keep in mind that the courts do have the authority to grant or withhold sanctions for failing to appear at a scheduled deposition.

In considering which expert to retain, you may want to personally know your expert or have conducted
researched on your expert’s professional background, their specific expertise in the field, and, if
possible, their prior testimonies in similar matters.

You should also evaluate or investigate your expert’s personality. You do not want an expert
who tends to lose his or her composure while being questioned by opposing counsel in deposition or
during trial. Additionally, you do not want an expert who has a tendency to “run at the mouth,” answering beyond what is necessary instead of only addressing the question being asked.

When you hire an expert, you should expect to receive their undivided attention. You are paying
them handsomely for their time and expertise. You do not want an expert who is involved with
unrelated matters, while you are meeting with them about your case, in their office.

I suggest hiring an expert witness early on in your case, if only for educational purposes. This
may not be the expert that ultimately ends up testifying in your trial, but he or she can educate
you at the inception of the case and while it is pending, particularly in assisting you to prepare
your cross-examination of the opposing expert. You can get a glimpse of how the expert will
explain the issues to the trier of fact, by the way they educate you. If they speak in a way that is
too difficult to understand, you may want to consider another expert.