--- name: deposition-prep description: Build a deposition outline for a witness — pull their documents from the eDiscovery platform, organize topics around the case theory, and surface impeachment material. Use when the user says "depo prep for [witness]", "build a depo outline", or "prepare for [name]'s deposition". argument-hint: "[witness name]" --- # /deposition-prep 1. Load `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md` → case theory, key facts. 2. Follow the workflow and reference below. 3. Pull docs authored by / mentioning witness from eDiscovery platform. 4. Build outline: background, key docs, topics tied to theory, impeachment material. --- # Deposition Prep ## Witness statements for England & Wales — PD 57AC If the user's jurisdiction includes England & Wales and they're asking for a trial witness statement for the Business & Property Courts (or any CPR-governed proceeding), PD 57AC applies. The statement must be in the witness's own words, must not contain argument, must identify the documents the witness used to refresh their memory, and must carry the required confirmation of compliance and the legal representative's certificate. **Drafting a narrative "as the witness" from a chronology, document set, or your account of the case is exactly what PD 57AC was designed to prevent.** Courts are actively sanctioning AI-assisted witness statement drafting. If you ask me to do it, I won't. What I WILL do: prepare question prompts to elicit the witness's actual recollection; capture and organize what the witness says (their words, not mine); generate the list of documents they were shown; run a PD 57AC compliance checklist against a statement they've drafted; draft the solicitor's certificate of compliance. I help you get the witness's evidence into the statement. I don't write the evidence. For US depositions, declarations, and affidavits: different rules, but the same discipline applies. A declaration in the declarant's voice that the declarant didn't write is a credibility problem at best. ## Destination check Before producing output, check where it's going. If the user has named a destination (a channel, a distribution list, a counterparty, "everyone"), ask whether it's inside the privilege circle. Public channels, company-wide lists, counterparty/opposing counsel, vendors, and clients (for work product) waive the protection. When the destination looks outside the circle, flag it and offer (a) the privileged version for legal only, (b) a sanitized version for the broader channel, or (c) both — don't silently apply a privileged header and then help paste it somewhere the header won't protect it. See the canonical `## Shared guardrails → Destination check` in this plugin's CLAUDE.md. ## Purpose A depo outline is a map: background → lock in the good facts → confront with the bad ones → box in on the theory. This skill builds the map from the documents and the case theory. ## Record fidelity — quotes and pinpoints Two rules that govern every citation and every quotation pulled from the record into this outline. Canonical statement lives in the plugin's `CLAUDE.md` shared guardrails; repeated here because an impeachment confrontation built on a misquoted prior statement or a misgrounded transcript cite collapses the impeachment. **Verbatim quotes from the record must be verbatim.** Never put quotation marks around words attributed to opposing counsel, the witness, another deponent, the court, or any record document unless you have the exact passage in front of you and can cite to it. When you want to characterize what someone said but can't find the exact words: - **Paraphrase without quotation marks**, attributing clearly: "Witness previously testified that X `[verify against record — Tr. p. __]`." - **Mark the placeholder:** `[verify exact quote — record cite pending]` - **Never fill the gap.** An invented prior statement destroys the impeachment the moment the witness disavows it and the transcript doesn't back you up. Every `[verify exact quote]` must be flagged in the reviewer note. **Pinpoint cites must support the whole proposition.** If an impeachment point is "the witness said X, Y, and Z on [date]," verify the pinpoint cite supports X AND Y AND Z. If it only supports Z, split the cite — "said X (Tr. p. 10), Y (Tr. p. 12), Z (Tr. p. 15)" — or narrow the proposition. A cite that supports part of an impeachment is the failure mode where opposing counsel asks the witness to read more of the surrounding transcript and your confrontation falls apart. ## Oral calibration A depo outline is read aloud in real time. That's oral advocacy, not written. It means: - Pick the 3-4 topics that actually matter. Don't try to cover everything — a 200-question outline on a 4-hour depo makes the lawyer skim, and skimming is how lines of questioning get lost mid-sequence. - Lead with your strongest confrontation. The witness is freshest at the start, and the transcript's opening pages are the ones a judge or jury is most likely to see. - For adverse witnesses: the tightest questions go in the tightest sequences. Everything else is scaffolding. - If you're preparing a rebuttal closing after the depo, the calibration is stricter still — the tribunal remembers the first two minutes and the last two. "Too thorough" for oral work reads as unfocused. If the outline is long because the record is deep, say so and flag where the lawyer should collapse. ## Load context `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md` → case theory (theory, pivot fact, key facts for/against), eDiscovery platform. **Conflicts gate — unbypassable.** Before building an outline, check `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/matters/_log.yaml` for the matter slug. If the matter is not in `_log.yaml`, refuse and route: > "I don't see [matter slug] in the matter log. Run `/litigation-legal:matter-intake` first so the conflicts check runs and the matter workspace is set up. I won't build a deposition outline on a matter that hasn't been intaken — the conflicts check is the gate." Do not proceed on an unintaken matter. Intake is what runs conflicts and writes the `_log.yaml` row this skill reads from. ## Workflow ### Step 1: Who is this witness? - Name, role, relationship to the case - Why are we deposing them — what do we need from this witness? The "why" connects to the theory. If the witness can establish the pivot fact, that's the centerpiece of the outline. ### Step 1a: Witness posture — branch before drafting questions Prep structure differs by posture. Identify the witness posture before writing a single question: - **Adverse / hostile** — cross-examination style: closed, leading, one fact at a time. Build the box. - **Friendly / your own** — direct-examination style: open questions that let the witness tell the story. Closed leading questions with your own witness are usually improper and undercut credibility with the factfinder. - **Neutral third-party** — mix; often open to get the story, closed to pin specifics. - **Corporate representative (30(b)(6) or state equivalent)** — topic designation, binding-the-entity rules, and the witness's personal-knowledge vs. corporate-knowledge distinction all have distinct rules. Research the applicable deposition rule for the forum and the 30(b)(6) / state-equivalent procedure. Confirm: what topics were designated, who was produced, scope of binding testimony. **Research the applicable deposition rules for the forum and witness type** (FRCP 30 / state equivalent, local rules, judge's standing orders on depositions). Cite primary sources. Don't apply a one-size prep structure — the question form, the approach to documents, and the use of impeachment material all depend on posture. **No silent supplement.** If a research query to the configured legal research tool (Westlaw, CourtListener, Trellis, Descrybe, or firm platform) returns few or no results for the forum's deposition rules or a cite you need for impeachment, report what was found and stop. Do NOT fill the gap from web search or model knowledge without asking. Say: "The search returned [N] results from [tool]. Coverage appears thin for [rule / authority]. Options: (1) broaden the search query, (2) try a different research tool, (3) search the web — results will be tagged `[web search — verify]` and should be checked against a primary source before relying, or (4) leave the `[UNCERTAIN]` marker and stop here. Which would you like?" A lawyer decides whether to accept lower-confidence sources; the skill does not decide for them. **Source attribution.** Tag every rule reference, case cite, and authority in the outline with where it came from: `[Westlaw]`, `[CourtListener]`, `[Trellis]`, `[Descrybe]`, or the MCP tool name for citations retrieved from a legal research connector; `[web search — verify]` for web-search citations; `[model knowledge — verify]` for citations recalled from training data; `[user provided]` for citations the partner or senior associate supplied. Document citations (Bates, production numbers) retain their native source. Citations tagged `verify` carry higher fabrication risk and should be checked before the deposition. Never strip or collapse the tags. ### Step 2: Pull their documents From the eDiscovery platform (Everlaw/Relativity/DISCO if connected): - Documents authored by witness - Documents sent to or from witness - Documents mentioning witness by name - Calendar entries and meeting notes with witness present Organize by date. Flag the hot docs — the ones that matter most for the theory. ### Step 3: Build topics Each topic is a thing you want to establish or explore. Organize around the theory: **Background (always first — lock in uncontroversial facts before the witness is defensive):** - Role, tenure, responsibilities - Reporting structure - How they interacted with the key players **Good facts (lock them in before confronting):** - Facts from `~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/litigation-legal/CLAUDE.md` → key facts for us, that this witness can establish - Documents that support our theory, authored or received by this witness **Bad facts (confront with documents):** - Facts against us that this witness will be asked about anyway — get your version first - Documents that hurt — know how the witness will explain them **Impeachment (if hostile or if they contradict):** - Prior inconsistent statements (from docs, prior testimony, declarations) - Documents that contradict what you expect them to say **The pivot fact:** - The sequence of questions that establishes (or undermines) the fact the case turns on - This is the most carefully constructed section. Question form follows witness posture from Step 1a: tight closed leading on adverse, controlled open on friendly, mixed on neutral. Don't default to one pattern. ### Step 4: Write the outline ```markdown [WORK-PRODUCT HEADER — per plugin config ## Outputs — differs by role; see `## Who's using this`] # Deposition Outline: [Witness Name] **Date:** [depo date] **Witness role:** [title, relationship to case] **Witness posture:** [adverse / friendly / neutral / 30(b)(6) or state equivalent] — drives question form **Applicable deposition rules:** [FRCP 30 / state rule / local rule / standing order — with pinpoint cites] `[UNCERTAIN — verify currency]` **Why we're taking this depo:** [one sentence — the goal] **Theory connection:** [how this witness fits the case theory] --- ## I. Background [Questions — closed, one fact each. Lock in the uncontroversial stuff.] ## II. [Good fact topic] **Goal:** Establish [fact] for use at summary judgment / trial. **Documents:** - [Bates] — [description] — [why it matters] **Questions:** [The sequence. Each question closed. Build to the admission.] ## III. [Bad fact topic] **Goal:** Get the witness's explanation of [bad fact] on our terms before they're prepped for trial. [Same structure] ## IV. Impeachment material (use if needed) [Prior statements / documents to confront with, if the witness contradicts] ## V. [Pivot fact sequence] **Goal:** [The thing the case turns on] [This is the tightest section. Every question is a yes/no. Every question establishes one fact. Build the box.] --- ## Exhibit list | # | Bates | Description | Used in section | |---|---|---|---| ## Marker discipline Use inline while building and reviewing: - `[VERIFY: factual assertion]` — any fact not confirmed against the record - `[UNCERTAIN: legal proposition]` — any legal point (rule, deadline, scope-of-questioning limit) not confirmed against current authority - `[CITE NEEDED: specific cite]` — record or authority cite pending ## Notes for the attorney - [Anything the outline doesn't capture — witness demeanor notes, strategic calls to make in the moment] --- **Privileged / work-product material.** This outline is built from case materials and work product and inherits their protection status. Keep it in the privileged-materials folder, mark it appropriately, and make any distribution decision (co-counsel, client, experts) deliberately — distribution outside the privilege circle can waive protection. **Cite check any authority relied on.** Rule citations (FRCP 30, state equivalents, local rules, standing orders) and any case law pulled into the outline were generated by an AI model. Verify each against Westlaw, CourtListener, or your research platform — confirm currency and scope before using at the deposition. Source tags on each citation (e.g., `[Westlaw]`, `[web search — verify]`) show where the cite came from; `verify` tags carry higher fabrication risk and should be checked first. ``` ## What this skill does not do - Take the deposition. The outline is a map; the attorney drives. - Predict what the witness will say. It prepares for likely answers, but witnesses surprise. - Decide what to ask on the fly. Follow-ups are the attorney's judgment in the room. --- Attribution added by YourAIKit. It is not part of the upstream file. - Source: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-for-legal/tree/main/litigation-legal/skills/deposition-prep - Credit: Anthropic, Claude for Legal (litigation-legal) - Upstream copy: anthropics/claude-for-legal at commit 4a6c651889c97cc9140580363c73e0eb17379c2b, litigation-legal/skills/deposition-prep/SKILL.md - Copyright: held by the upstream authors credited above - License: Apache-2.0. Full text: https://youraikit.com/licenses/anthropics-claude-for-legal-root/LICENSE - The full upstream license text (LICENSE) follows. License (LICENSE): ```text Apache License Version 2.0, January 2004 http://www.apache.org/licenses/ TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION 1. Definitions. "License" shall mean the terms and conditions for use, reproduction, and distribution as defined by Sections 1 through 9 of this document. "Licensor" shall mean the copyright owner or entity authorized by the copyright owner that is granting the License. "Legal Entity" shall mean the union of the acting entity and all other entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with that entity. For the purposes of this definition, "control" means (i) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or otherwise, or (ii) ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the outstanding shares, or (iii) beneficial ownership of such entity. "You" (or "Your") shall mean an individual or Legal Entity exercising permissions granted by this License. "Source" form shall mean the preferred form for making modifications, including but not limited to software source code, documentation source, and configuration files. "Object" form shall mean any form resulting from mechanical transformation or translation of a Source form, including but not limited to compiled object code, generated documentation, and conversions to other media types. "Work" shall mean the work of authorship, whether in Source or Object form, made available under the License, as indicated by a copyright notice that is included in or attached to the work (an example is provided in the Appendix below). "Derivative Works" shall mean any work, whether in Source or Object form, that is based on (or derived from) the Work and for which the editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications represent, as a whole, an original work of authorship. For the purposes of this License, Derivative Works shall not include works that remain separable from, or merely link (or bind by name) to the interfaces of, the Work and Derivative Works thereof. "Contribution" shall mean any work of authorship, including the original version of the Work and any modifications or additions to that Work or Derivative Works thereof, that is intentionally submitted to Licensor for inclusion in the Work by the copyright owner or by an individual or Legal Entity authorized to submit on behalf of the copyright owner. For the purposes of this definition, "submitted" means any form of electronic, verbal, or written communication sent to the Licensor or its representatives, including but not limited to communication on electronic mailing lists, source code control systems, and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, the Licensor for the purpose of discussing and improving the Work, but excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or otherwise designated in writing by the copyright owner as "Not a Contribution." "Contributor" shall mean Licensor and any individual or Legal Entity on behalf of whom a Contribution has been received by Licensor and subsequently incorporated within the Work. 2. Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare Derivative Works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the Work and such Derivative Works in Source or Object form. 3. Grant of Patent License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Work, where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable by such Contributor that are necessarily infringed by their Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their Contribution(s) with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. If You institute patent litigation against any entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to You under this License for that Work shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed. 4. Redistribution. You may reproduce and distribute copies of the Work or Derivative Works thereof in any medium, with or without modifications, and in Source or Object form, provided that You meet the following conditions: (a) You must give any other recipients of the Work or Derivative Works a copy of this License; and (b) You must cause any modified files to carry prominent notices stating that You changed the files; and (c) You must retain, in the Source form of any Derivative Works that You distribute, all copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices from the Source form of the Work, excluding those notices that do not pertain to any part of the Derivative Works; and (d) If the Work includes a "NOTICE" text file as part of its distribution, then any Derivative Works that You distribute must include a readable copy of the attribution notices contained within such NOTICE file, excluding those notices that do not pertain to any part of the Derivative Works, in at least one of the following places: within a NOTICE text file distributed as part of the Derivative Works; within the Source form or documentation, if provided along with the Derivative Works; or, within a display generated by the Derivative Works, if and wherever such third-party notices normally appear. The contents of the NOTICE file are for informational purposes only and do not modify the License. You may add Your own attribution notices within Derivative Works that You distribute, alongside or as an addendum to the NOTICE text from the Work, provided that such additional attribution notices cannot be construed as modifying the License. You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and may provide additional or different license terms and conditions for use, reproduction, or distribution of Your modifications, or for any such Derivative Works as a whole, provided Your use, reproduction, and distribution of the Work otherwise complies with the conditions stated in this License. 5. Submission of Contributions. Unless You explicitly state otherwise, any Contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in the Work by You to the Licensor shall be under the terms and conditions of this License, without any additional terms or conditions. Notwithstanding the above, nothing herein shall supersede or modify the terms of any separate license agreement you may have executed with Licensor regarding such Contributions. 6. Trademarks. This License does not grant permission to use the trade names, trademarks, service marks, or product names of the Licensor, except as required for reasonable and customary use in describing the origin of the Work and reproducing the content of the NOTICE file. 7. Disclaimer of Warranty. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, Licensor provides the Work (and each Contributor provides its Contributions) on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. You are solely responsible for determining the appropriateness of using or redistributing the Work and assume any risks associated with Your exercise of permissions under this License. 8. Limitation of Liability. In no event and under no legal theory, whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise, unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall any Contributor be liable to You for damages, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising as a result of this License or out of the use or inability to use the Work (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill, work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all other commercial damages or losses), even if such Contributor has been advised of the possibility of such damages. 9. Accepting Warranty or Additional Liability. While redistributing the Work or Derivative Works thereof, You may choose to offer, and charge a fee for, acceptance of support, warranty, indemnity, or other liability obligations and/or rights consistent with this License. However, in accepting such obligations, You may act only on Your own behalf and on Your sole responsibility, not on behalf of any other Contributor, and only if You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold each Contributor harmless for any liability incurred by, or claims asserted against, such Contributor by reason of your accepting any such warranty or additional liability. END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPENDIX: How to apply the Apache License to your work. To apply the Apache License to your work, attach the following boilerplate notice, with the fields enclosed by brackets "[]" replaced with your own identifying information. (Don't include the brackets!) The text should be enclosed in the appropriate comment syntax for the file format. We also recommend that a file or class name and description of purpose be included on the same "printed page" as the copyright notice for easier identification within third-party archives. Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner] Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. ```