What Should I Wear To My Deposition?
Projecting Professionalism Is Important During A Deposition: Dress Accordingly
Depositions can be stressful, and the last thing you want to be worrying about is whether you are wearing the right clothing. Capital Reporting Company handles many, many depositions each and every day, and our goal in this article is to give you some sense as to what we observe from witnesses in depositions.
For starters, let’s break things down into two categories: conventional depositions and video depositions. In a conventional deposition, the only evidence of the deposition itself will be the transcript. There will not be any photographs or video of you; accordingly, in theory, it does not matter what you wear because you won’t be seen. In a video deposition there will be a videographer and a stenographer at the deposition. The stenographer will transcribe your testimony, and the videographer will be placing your testimony on a digital memory card. When a deposition is video taped, what you wear becomes far more important.
It’s Better To Overdress Than Underdress
Even though – again, in theory – you will only be seen by a jury if the deposition is video taped, the witnesses we observe in most depositions are dressed professionally. What does “professionally” mean? In practice, witnesses are dressed as if they were attending a job interview, and some of the same rules apply. Being over dressed is better than being under dressed. Make sure your clothes are clean, neat, and pressed. Dress conservatively. Common sense governs here, of course.
Moving to the nitty gritty, here are some things we see when we serve as the court reporter:
- Most men will wear a collared shirt, oftentimes with a jacket and tie.
- Most women will wear a pants suit, or a skirt.
If you will be having your deposition taken and you are simply a witness, then what you wear is not critical. If you are an expert witness, or you are the plaintiff or defendant, always act on the side of caution. For example, if you have been involved in an automobile accident, or are going through a divorce, then you should definitely wear a suit (and tie if you are a man). But if you are simply a witness to a car accident, then what you wear is much less of an issue.
Good luck with your deposition!
