KU Law News
KU Law News
Feb. 6, 2009
Law students learn trial skills in intensive deposition workshop
Students learned the art of taking and defending depositions during KU Law's first Deposition Skills Workshop over the winter break.
Karen Collier figures it’s far better to stumble over legal procedure and technique in a hypothetical environment than to make mistakes when a real client’s future is on the line.
So although her experience in the University of Kansas School of Law’s first deposition skills workshop proved nerve-wracking, Collier appreciated the practice.
“Depositions in the real world are going to be intense, and this workshop was supposed to mimic what we may encounter as attorneys,” said Collier, a third-year law student. “Even if I never wind up doing a deposition, the poise and focus you must maintain during a deposition transfer to many different types of communication attorneys face in their careers.”
Collier joined 17 other students in the workshop, which ran Jan. 11-14. The two-credit-hour course focused on taking and defending depositions, or witness testimony given under oath and recorded for later use in court. The law school has never offered an intersession course that covered practical skills, said Suzanne Valdez, clinical associate professor of law and workshop administrator.
“Research shows that to effectively learn practical skills, it is most beneficial for the student to learn in an intensive simulated environment where the student can have repetitive exposure and practice with the skill,” she said. “We saw our students evolve from true novices to well-skilled deposition takers.”
The students spent the first day in the classroom, learning substantive rules and procedures related to discovery depositions from lead instructor Stan Davis, a former KU Law faculty member and partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Then they put their knowledge to work. Students spent the next two and a half days in workshops, learning and practicing the art of taking and defending depositions. Each student participated in 10 workshops, taking and defending a total of 10 mini depositions.
Students expressed strong interest in the course, Valdez said. Approximately 75 third-year students submitted a lottery form for 18 spots.
“This level of interest shows that practical skills courses are in high student demand,” Valdez said.
The students were divided into groups of six, and two practicing attorneys worked with each group, rotating over the course of the workshop so that each student learned and got feedback from six different lawyers.
Shon Qualseth, a partner at the Lawrence law firm of Thompson Ramsdell & Qualseth and a 1997 KU Law graduate, said the deposition skills and concepts he taught KU students during the workshop were the same ones he and his law partners taught associates at the firm.
“Like anything, practice makes perfect,” he said. “The students in the workshop crammed a lot of practice into a short time. When the time comes for them to take or defend their first depositions, they will already have a lot of practice under their belts.”
“By the third day, the students had become comfortable enough with the basics that they could focus on themes and fleshing out in-depth information from the witnesses,” Qualseth said. “A lot of the instruction on the third day involved very nuanced aspects of a deposition – nuances that are only possible if there is a mastery of basic skills and a level of confidence.”
In addition to Davis, Qualseth and Valdez, the following attorneys helped teach the course:
- Ron Bodinson, L’73, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon
- Chuck Marvine, L’96, chief trial attorney for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Division of Enforcement
- Joyce Rosenberg, L’96, Lawyering instructor at KU Law and experienced litigator with three Kansas City law firms
Despite the nerves involved, Collier said that she and her classmates had fun learning from experienced attorneys in a practical setting that remained relaxed enough for occasional laughter.
“I think more KU Law courses should be offered like this,” Collier said. “It really gives students a chance to focus solely on one topic at a time, which I found refreshing and effective.”