Preparing For, Taking, and Defending Depositions of Class Representatives
Deposition Logistics; Key Topics; Questioning Techniques; Post-Deposition Strategies
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will prepare defense counsel to depose and plaintiffs' counsel to defend depositions of class representatives in class litigation. The panel will outline techniques for effectively preparing or questioning class representatives and offer strategies to leverage deposition testimony during certification, settlement, and trial.
Outline
- Qualities of a compelling class representative
- Deposition timing
- Deposition location
- Preparing the class representative
- Preparing to depose the class representative
- Deposition strategies
- Post-deposition strategies: class certification, settlement, trial
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What types of questions and questioning techniques will maximize the information obtained from named plaintiffs during depositions?
- What are effective ways to prepare the plaintiff for their deposition?
- What are some techniques for defending a named plaintiff deposition?
- How are class litigators incorporating social media into the deposition process?
- How can deposition testimony be used during class certification, settlement, and trial?
Faculty
David T. Biderman
Partner, Chair Consumer Products and Services Litigation
Perkins Coie
Mr. Biderman focuses his practice on mass tort litigation and consumer class actions. He represents packaged food... | Read More
Mr. Biderman focuses his practice on mass tort litigation and consumer class actions. He represents packaged food companies, coffee companies, dairy companies, footwear companies and others whose nutritional or health claims have been challenged. Mr. Biderman also has represented search engines and other online companies. For 15 years, he managed the firm’s full-service product liability team responsible for defending over 1,000 toxic tort cases pending in Los Angeles and Northern California state courts. Mr. Biderman speaks and writes regularly on class action issues.
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Stuart A. Davidson
Partner
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
Mr. Davidson’s practice focuses on complex consumer class actions, including cases involving deceptive and unfair... | Read More
Mr. Davidson’s practice focuses on complex consumer class actions, including cases involving deceptive and unfair trade practices, privacy and data breach issues, and antitrust violations. He served as class counsel in In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation, No. 3:15-cv-03747-JD (N.D. Cal.). Stuart has been named a Recommended Lawyer by The Legal 500, a Leading Lawyer in America, a Leading Litigator in America, a Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer, and a Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer by Lawdragon, one of “Florida’s Most Effective Lawyers” by American Law Media’s Daily Business Review, and a member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100-Civil Plaintiffs. He is a member of the Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Brainstorming Group, focusing on the California Consumer Protection Act. Stuart currently serves on the 2023 Consumer Protection Editorial Advisory Board for Law360.
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Avery Halfon
Attorney
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
Mr. Halfon is an associate in Lieff Cabraser’s New York office, where he represents victims of corporate greed,... | Read More
Mr. Halfon is an associate in Lieff Cabraser’s New York office, where he represents victims of corporate greed, negligence, and other misconduct. He litigates on behalf of groups injured through deceptive overcharge schemes, harmful products, sexual abuse, discrimination, and more. His cases with Lieff Cabraser have successfully subjected national banks to state consumer protection laws, defeated major telecoms’ attempts to force arbitration and immunize themselves from customer accountability, and won more than $300 million for class members. He was also part of a litigation team that convinced a Texas federal court to rule that the state’s pandemic voting policies discriminated against Black and Latino/a voters. Avery seeks to not only secure compensation for victims, but also lead corporations and other institutions to reform their cultures and set up internal accountability systems to prevent the harm from happening again.
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