Going for my first deposition in a couple of hours. I've spent several hours in the last 2 weeks talking to attorneys... not looking forward to being in a room with several who are probably billing at 500 an hour, and have no reason to hurry.
Good luck. Be honest, listen to the question before answering, and before answering; make sure you understand the question. Only answer the question asked. Do not answer the question that should have been asked.
any good tips? I Think I'm heading down that road right now.
The only lesson i need to learn is when to walk away when a general contractor is completely incompetent and the owner is a overzealous trust fund baby but here i am
Have your daily journal. Only answer a question you can document from your journal. Any other question will be "I cannot recall" If you have failed to have a daily journal, and decent notes, do not answer ANY question except with "I cannot recall" If they ask for an opinion, decline. If they ask a question pertaining to a code or standard, and you do not have that in front of you, say " I will have to refer to the standard or code before I can answer" NEVER SPIN THE TRUTH or worse, LIE!
Great advice. Something I learned long ago and had beat into my stubborn head by my dad, keep a journal. It will pay dividends if you are ever called upon to testify. This was something that has saved my azz on several occassions (mostly in a previous life working offshore). Again, very sound advice Kahunna.
Not a tip for enduring a deposition, but a small tip for avoiding them, is to clarify all all questionable instruction/demands twice verbally and then once in writing. Ethically challenged individuals will ask you to do many, many things verbally that they will never put in writing. Verification from 2 or more levels in an organization is mo better. Sounds pretty drastic, but there are very cheap audio recording devices that are cheap. Those can save you untold heartache if you regularly swim with predatory fish. Documentation rules, otherwise it's your word against theirs and many people are very good liars.
No Brent, we've been busy moving into a couple of different areas as opportunity has deposited itself in our lap. Hopefully it'll all shake out nice. All is well with my clan. That last big storm broke a few things around here but I fixed 'em. Several power poles were blown over in the big K town. My 1/3rd mile driveway is a mass of washed out small canyons but with more storms coming I'll wait to fix those. We need that rain.
The mule deer are starting to make a comeback around here, hopefully it'll continue. This drought didn't phase the elk population but the deer& antelope took a pounding since the early 90's.
The snakes seem to be having a banner year tho. And we have a small batch of Javelina running around, never seen them this far north. The mountain lion population will likely feast on them : )
LOL, selective hearing can be a good thing at times.
All is well and we are hunting a rental place at the moment. We are not getting in a hurry, I don't want to rush in only to regret it 4 months into a year lease. I am in an extended stay motel right now (2 1/2 hour drive home on the weekend). It is not bad for the price and has kitchenette with full size fridge. Best part is I am less than 5 minutes from work even on a bad traffic day.
I will agree that in the haste to Get the job done my record keeping wasn't what it should have been at the end of the day. Thankfully i cannot recall, is going to be a mantra from here on out. Well actually its come to, you can ask my council as all further communication will be through them.
