Litigation Academy - Deposition Training Program

Program Dates: May 16-18, 2023

The program begins at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, May 16, and ends at 12:30 PM on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

Welcome (or welcome back) to the Litigation Academy! In this Deposition Training Program, you will focus on improving your skills taking civil depositions.  While this training is based on federal court practice, the skills you learn will be transferable to other settings. 

Instructional lectures will alternate with hands-on exercises in which you will get to practice the skills covered, working with trained actors as witnesses.  At the end of the full day of training on Wednesday, you are invited to join the faculty and program alumni for a reception, to mingle and get to know the faculty and your fellow lawyers.  The training will conclude on the last day with a group discussion so that you can reflect on what you have learned and we can get your feedback and suggestions. 

Lectures will be presented to the group as a whole.  For the exercises, participants will be split into smaller groups of six participants per group, and will retire to exercise rooms for individual practice with deposition skills.  Each group will receive feedback and guidance from experienced lawyers and judges serving as faculty coaches.  The deposition witnesses will be played by professional actors from the Trinity Repertory Company and the Gamm Theater. 

Each exercise will give participants a chance to practice a specific deposition skill, with constructive critiques by the faculty members.  For the training, you will be given a specific role to play (as plaintiff’s counsel or defense counsel), which you will play throughout the program. 

Co-sponsored by the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, Roger Williams University School of Law, and the Rhode Island Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

This program has been approved for 13 RI MCLE credits including 1 ethics.

Registration required.