Litigation Lawyers in Travis County

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Travis County, Texas civil litigation.

The discovery procedure in Travis County, Texas is one of the most significant parts of the civil litigation process. During the discovery phase, each side of the lawsuit is obligated to make all of the relevant information it has in its possession available to the other side.

In Travis County, Texas, one way to receive 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 usually 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 certain lines of questioning, if they wish.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Travis County, Texas

Depositions in Travis County, Texas 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.

Civil Depositions in Travis County, Texas, can take a very long time to be completed, usually lasting several days, and occasionally going on for weeks. So, people who are called to give depositions in Travis County, Texas should be ready for some significant inconvenience.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Travis County, Texas allows 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 being deposed in Travis County, Texas you absolutely must answer all the questions truthfully and completely, to the best of your knowledge. You are under oath, and if you lie, and are caught, you could be prosecuted with perjury, which can carry jail time.

How Can A Travis County, Texas Lawyer Help?

If you are the plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit, you almost definitely already have a Travis County, Texas lawyer. If either party to the lawsuit calls you for a deposition, your lawyer will have plenty of advice for you. You should, of course, follow that advice to the letter.

If you're not a party to a lawsuit in Travis County, Texas, 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.