Looking back on my short time as a summer associate, I am struck by how much I have learned in just a couple of weeks. Every week seems to bring a new challenge, a new skill to develop, and a new opportunity to learn from the talented attorneys around me.
This week marked a major milestone in my summer associate experience: taking my first deposition.
After thoroughly reviewing the case file, I drafted a deposition outline designed to elicit testimony that would undermine the opposing party’s claims. While I had observed depositions before, stepping into the role of the attorney asking the questions was a completely different experience.
The Deposition Workshop was led by Joe Metzger, a partner in Tampa with associate Robert Barton playing the role of our difficult, but highly entertaining, deponent. Going into the exercise, I was definitely nervous. I spent a lot of time preparing my outline and thinking through the questions I wanted to ask, but there is always some uncertainty when you have to react in real-time. Fortunately, once I got started, the nerves quickly faded, and the time flew by.
Robert did an excellent job keeping us on our toes. He forced us to actively listen to every answer and work for each piece of information we wanted to uncover. The exercise reinforced that a deposition is much more than reading questions from an outline. It requires adaptability, careful listening, and strategic follow-up questions. By the end of the workshop, I thought all of the summer associates had done a great job navigating a challenging witness.
The workshop also gave me an opportunity to think about the type of attorney I hope to become. Through observing attorneys take depositions, I have learned that everyone develops their own style. Personally, I found that building rapport with the deponent felt natural and effective while still helping uncover information that could support my client’s position. It will be interesting to see how that approach continues to evolve.
As if the week was not exciting enough, the problem for our Motion Writing Competition was also released. I’m looking forward to putting my legal writing skills to the test and diving into the research and drafting process. While the Deposition Workshop challenged me to think on my feet and adapt in real-time, the motion competition presents a different challenge. I’m excited to continue developing both my advocacy and writing skills through the Summer Associate Program and to see how my argument comes together in the weeks ahead.
