Litigation Lawyers in Narberth

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Narberth, Pennsylvania civil litigation.

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Narberth, Pennsylvania. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

In Narberth, Pennsylvania, one way to obtain this information is to find the people involved in the dispute (whether they're witnesses or parties), and ask them questions about the issues you believe them to have knowledge of. A civil deposition is typically a pretty simple process: the person being deposed is sworn in (they are under oath, just as if they were in a courtroom). Because the whole point of a deposition is to get testimony on the record, a stenographer or video technician will also be present, recording the whole deposition. The lawyer then asks questions of the witness, and the lawyers for the other side are able to object to specific lines of questioning, if they wish.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Narberth, Pennsylvania

Depositions in Narberth, Pennsylvania are meant to get verbal testimony on the record and into evidence, when there is concern that the individual being deposed might be unable to show up and testify at trial, or their testimony will take far too long for them to testify at trial.

It should not be any shock, then, that civil depositions in Narberth, Pennsylvania can go on for a very long time. If you are contacted to appear in a deposition in Narberth, Pennsylvania, this can be a huge headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Narberth, Pennsylvania permits witnesses who are appearing in depositions to be paid a set amount of money for their time, and reimbursed for travel expenses. However, if there is any evidence that this money is being used to influence a witness' testimony, there is going to be a significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in Narberth, Pennsylvania, it's absolutely imperative that you answer all the questions truthfully, to the best of your knowledge. When testifying in a deposition, you are under oath, just as you would be in open court. Deliberately lying in a deposition is perjury, which is a serious crime.

How Can A Narberth, Pennsylvania Lawyer Help?

If you're a party to a Narberth, Pennsylvania lawsuit and are obligated to appear at a deposition, one would hope that you've already retained a lawyer by this stage in the proceedings. Your attorney will have a lot of advice for you, which you should of course follow.

If you're not a party to a lawsuit in Narberth, Pennsylvania, but have knowledge about some of the facts that are at issue in a pending case, you might still be contacted to appear in a deposition. In that case, you likely don't need to hire a lawyer.