Deposition

Deposition. 1. A witness's out-of-court testimony that is reduced to writing (usu. by a court reporter) for later use in court or for discovery purposes. 2. The session at which such testimony is recorded.

Deposition de bene esse. A deposition taken from a witness who will likely be unable to attend a schedueld trial or hearing. If the witness is not available to attend trial, the testimony is read at trial as if the witness were present in court.

Oral Deposition. A deposition given in response to oral questioning by a lawyer.

All of the above from Black Law Dictionary, 7th Ed.

That's what I did today - took my first deposition. Don't know how it went. It's not that strong of a case, and though the testimony was from an adverse witness, the testimony itself was not that damaging and in fact helpful in some places. Another attorney from the office was there and boy was I glad of that, because basically, I don't know what I'm doing. I've only ever attended one deposition before. I've read a few - but that's a far cry from actually being the one asking the questions. And I wasn't really prepared. It's kind of a difficult line to figure out. The client is behind in her payments, can't really afford to make any payments. So I don't want to spend hours and hours preparing when the low likelihood of getting paid is combined with the low likelihood of winning. Still and all, I didn't sleep well last night and I most certainly did not want to come into work today. I've got such a passive aggressive stubborn streak. It's no good. Blabber blabber blabber. I've got to get back to work - it's piling higher than an elephant's eye, so it ain't no beautiful morning.