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Recently, an RPC expert was deposed in a non-stenographic Zoom deposition. No court reporter or videographer was present. The deposing attorney indicated he was a notary and swore the witness. He also acted as the deposition officer and used Zoom to record the deposition. This arrangement was an obvious cost-savings to the deposing attorney and may become a common arrangement.
The deposition caused me to ask several questions about the rules governing a non-stenographic video deposition with no court reporter or videographer present:
- How must documents be provided to the witness?
- How are documents marked as exhibits?
- Who certifies the accuracy of any recording?
- How does the witness file errata?
- Does the deposing attorney have to provide a copy of the recording to the other attorneys and to the witness?
It seemed to me there should be stipulations to govern the conduct of non-stenographic video depositions agreed by the parties or ordered by the court. I asked Bill Christian, a partner with Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody (GDHM), if there were published examples of such stipulations. When he said he had not, I asked him to prepare model stipulations accompanied by a legal memorandum. When an RPC expert is noticed for a non-stenographic video deposition, we will ask the attorney defending the deposition to have the model stipulations apply to that deposition.
I am happy to share Bill Christian’s legal memorandum and model stipulations. The memo is posted on RPC’s website. You can download it here. Bill and I realize technology is forcing changes in legal practice. We welcome your questions and suggestions on how to refine the model stipulations.
RPC is not a law firm and nothing in this email or blog post is intended as legal advice. The information and attachments are offered as general information. Readers who are not attorneys should consult their legal counsel before taking any action or using the attachments.