Depositions and Trial Testimony, A Positive Experience?

There is a good chance that a practicing civil engineer will be deposed or have to testify at trial sometime during his or her career. A typical civil engineering university education does not prepare the engineer for the deposition and trial process. This lack of experience results in the civil engineer being at a distinct disadvantage and usually under significant stress during the first deposition or trial. It is likely that the most difficult point in the civil engineer's first testimony will be during direct examination by the opposing attorney, when the opposing attorney may try to discredit or impeach the civil engineer. Because of these factors, the initial deposition or trial testimony tends to be a bad experience. Yet civil engineers should try to view their first deposition or trial testimony as a positive process, and especially a learning experience, to give them confidence and prepare them for their next encounter.