Want to Lower Your Deposition Costs?

Depositions can be expensive, so why not attempt to lower your costs?  I can think of at least three ways to immediately reduce deposition them.

Look at an invoice from a court reporter.  Many charge for exhibits by page.  So when exhibits are attached to the transcript, this becomes a profit center for the reporting agency.  First, if deposing an expert, do not blindly attach the expert’s entire file as an exhibit.  I see this frequently and it is insane in most circumstances because an unnecessary cost has just been incurred.

The second way to reduce costs with exhibits is to use Bates numbers.  I Bates number every document produced in my cases.  This allows me to track what was produced and when.  In depositions, it also allows me to know exactly what document the witness is reviewing during testimony without the need to label it as an exhibit.  This in turn reduces deposition costs.  If the witness marks up a document during the deposition, I attach that specific page, not the whole document.

Finally, do not order anything but an e-trans.  If an e-trans is in the file, you can print as many full or mini-sized transcripts as you want.  If you ask the court report to print it for you, it is just another unnecessary cost.