Best Practices for Using Word Lists in Depositions
Properly Assembled Word Lists Help Court Reporters & Make Depositions Easier
Word lists are a very effective way of assisting court reporters in keeping an accurate transcript, as well as making sure that the deposition proceeds as smoothly as possible. Put simply, word lists are lists of key phrases that will be used during the deposition that may either be technical in nature, or have unique spellings. Best practice dictates that the trial lawyer prepare the list in advance so that the list can be given to the court reporter or the court reporting agency before the deposition begins.
One good example comes from a medical malpractice case. The case involved whether an eye doctor committed malpractice. The eye doctor was an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist. The medical malpractice lawyer taking the deposition clearly understood that most of the world spells “ophthalmologist” improperly, missing the third letter, which is an “h”! Accordingly, the lawyer taking the deposition prepared a word list that included the word “ophthalmologist.” This helps improve the accuracy of the transcript when it was ultimately completed.
In some instances, a deposition of a witness may span several days. There may be new court reporters who come in and out at different times, and a word list helps the new reporter figure out exactly what the testimony is about.
A final benefit of using a word list is that it helps the deposition proceed more quickly. When a court reporter is unsure as to the spelling of the word, the court reporter will later need to get the correct spelling. Having a word list that was delivered in advance of the deposition will help this process proceed more smoothly.
A good word list is simple to create. The trial lawyer can simply create a basic list of key phrases. It is recommended that the lawyer deliver this to the agency ahead of the deposition, as well as the court reporter at the time of the deposition.
