Deposition Etiquette 101: Donuts, Angry Birds and Genitals

Two attorneys from personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan behaved so poorly during depositions that a judge disqualified both attorneys as well as the entire firm from representing plaintiffs in a class action suit.

According to Judge Cecilia Altonaga's Order, the attorneys, Richard Celler and Stacey Schulman chose Dunkin' Donuts for the site of depositions. Celler would attend in t-shirts and shorts and would show Schulman pictures of male genitalia that he had drawn during the deposition. Celler and Schulman laughed at the drawings and said they described opposing counsel, Jason Coupal. During the deposition, Celler played Angry Birds and bragged about beating someone in Minnesota at the game. Coupal complained to the court and the judge issued a disqualification ruling. More details of the attorneys' egregious but hilarious misconduct can be found here and here.

 If you thought that playing Angry Birds or drawing pictures of male genitalia were appropriate ways to gain a "psychological advantage" over your opposition, you many want to check out some of the library's resources on depositions:
The Effective Deposition: Techniques and Strategies that Work by David M. Malone, Peter T. Hoffman and Anthony J. Bocchino. KF8900 .M34 2007 at the Reference Area.
Depositions in a Nutshell by Albert J. Moore. KF8900 .D485 2011 at the Reference Area.

If you are just interested in holding your depositions in a donut shop, you'll be interested to know that National Donut Day is rapidly approaching. You may be able to celebrate by visiting the new Top Pot Doughnuts opening in Ballard which is expected to coincide with the holiday on June 1st!