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Exceedingly competent court reporters in Seattle are in high demand. There are numerous legal needs that Seattle court reporting firms can fill. Stenographers are utilized for depositions, arbitrations, and trials.  Additionally, Seattle court reporting firms can act as document repositories and provide many other important legal services.  In fact, a Seattle court reporting agency can provide a surprising number of services. Some of these include document storage and retrieval, complex litigation support, early case management, staffing, and videotaping and video conference assistance.  In the compressed time period before legal proceedings actually begin, early case management and litigation support are necessary for law firms to obtain a complete picture of cases.  Attorneys need to know the particular court reporters in Seattle capable of handling such complex litigation. The management of legal documents is vital to building a solid case.

A large and helpful staff is essential to Seattle court reporting firms to provide the highest quality service.  Attorneys often aren’t aware that they can use these additional pairs of eyes to sort through and help organize the mounds of documents generated through witnesses and testimony, freeing up the law firm from doing so. Comprehensive indexing can take a lot of pressure off of a busy legal workforce.  Seattle court reporting staffing can also be helpful when a law firm is in need of a particular document they don’t possess. Many of these documents are vital to the case and can be scanned and stored by the court reporting firm. Also, records depositions can be set up so that the court reporter can simply go to the entity where the documents exist and retrieve them.  Court reporters in Seattle know the importance and sensitive nature of these documents. Some of the important documents that Seattle court reporting firms retrieve through a records deposition are medical records, financial records, police records, and other records that need to be acquired from official sources.  In short, a full-service Seattle court reporting firm can be a huge asset to busy law firms, assisting them from the day the complaint is filed until the case goes to trial.

Yes, and we do it all the time. In fact, we’ve taken depositions in such exotic locales as Palau, South Korea, Australia, Europe, Italy, France, and other exotic (and not-so-exotic) locales.  Usually, this happens when, during a particular case, an American deponent is working in a different country and is unable to return to the U.S. to be deposed. In other cases, the deponent could be a foreign national who refuses to come to the United States, making it necessary for everybody to come to him.  Now we have a third option available which is the most cost effective for everybody:  HD video conferencing.  It allows everybody here to congregate in one room while the deponent may be halfway around the world!

The deposition, sometimes appropriately referred to as an “examination before trial,” is an important part of the pretrial process (often called “discovery”).  A deposition is very similar to a witness examination at trial.  A deposition may last less than one hour, take several hours to complete or longer. Since most depositions are concluded in one day, there are but some instances the deposition continues for two or more days.  Unfortunately, only the lawyer taking the deposition can predict the length of the deposition. 

Prior to your deposition, your lawyer should arrange an appointment to prepare you for your deposition.  This is an extremely valuable opportunity for you to review the facts and circumstances of your case with your lawyer before being questioned by the opposing lawyer.  It is important that you attend this meeting so as to be best prepared for your deposition.  As any experienced trial lawyer will tell you, a difficult case can be greatly enhanced by a good deposition performance, just as a great case can be jeopardized by a poor one.  In short, the time and effort you devote to preparing for your deposition are valuable investments in your case and should not be lost.

Reason for Taking a Deposition

The most common reason for taking a deposition is to learn what that witness knows or does not know about the facts involved in a particular case.  A deposition is not an attempt by the opposing side to intimidate or harass you.  Generally, a party to a lawsuit has the right to take the deposition of another party or a witness with information relevant to the case.  A deposition is often the lawyer’s only opportunity to question another party directly, prior to the trial of the case.  The deposition is, therefore, among the lawyer’s most valuable pre-trial tools and the law prescribes certain rules for taking deposition testimony.  The parties in a litigation are afforded an opportunity through their lawyers to question each other, and sometimes persons who are not named as parties in the lawsuit, about facts that might be relevant to the case.  This discovery process helps the litigants prepare for possible motions, out-of-court settlement, or trial.

After the deposition is over, the court reporter will type out the transcript of the questions and answers, and all parties will receive copies.  You will have the opportunity to review the record and make corrections, but generally, the reporter’s word will prevail.  In major cases, where cost is not a concern, both sides may have their own court reporters present.  The original may be filed with the court, and become publicly available, depending on the rules of the court or state.

For your deposition, call Seattle Deposition Reporters: 206.622.6661

Seattle Deposition Reporters, LLC proudly announces our merger with longtime Seattle court reporting firm Mills & Lessard!  Mills & Lessard has been a strong presence in the Northwest court reporting world for 34 years.  We have been friendly competitors since their inception due to our common roots. Michael Mills and Pat Lessard decided to break off and start their own business when their former office refused to get on the technology train.  Pat and Mike were the first in Seattle to embrace computer technology, and it is because of them that court reporters quickly embraced some form of technology or faced elimination due to failure to keep up with the ever-changing tools that today’s court reporter has at hand.