But if you run into a situation where you need more time than the client will pay for, then you have to look yourself in the mirror and ask whether your desire to win is limited by whether or not the meter is running. Don t plan to ask, plan to attack. It is the only way a judge or jury can decide whom to trust. Accordingly, your plan should be to destroy the expert in the deposition. With very few exceptions, there is no reason to hold your bullets for trial.
Most cases settle.
The systematic destruction of your opponent s experts will enhance the prospects of settlement on terms that favor your client. This, in turn, maximizes the client s return on his or her investment in you. Accordingly, your deposition should be your trial cross-examination, with the added advantage that you get to take chances in a deposition that you would not want to take for the first time in front of a jury. If you hurt the expert in the deposition, then expect him to change his opinions at trial. The flipping expert gives you the greatest gift of all, a concession, in front of the jury, that you know more than he does.